Effects of Oral Administration of Leaf Extract of Uvaria Chamae (Mmimi Ohia) in Albino Wistar Rats.
Abstract
Uvaria chamae P. Beauv is known to have various medicinal and therapeutic properties. The Biochemical and toxicological effects of the leaf extract were assessed in this study using Albino wistar rats.
Acute toxicity test was performed on the rats to determine the LD50.Sub acute toxicity test was also carried out by oral administration of different doses of ethanolic extract of U. Chamae leaf (EEUC) on different groups of rats for thirty (30) days.
Twenty (20) male albino wistar rats were divided into four (4) groups A to D (n=5). Animals in group A served as control and received 5%tween 80. Then those in groups B, C and D received 250, 500 and 1000mg/kg of the extract.
On the thirty first (31st) day, 5ml of blood was collected from the animals into plain tubes for biochemical investigations. Result of acute toxicity studies showed that leaf extract of Chamae had no toxic effect.
Administration of the extract resulted in an increases in the mean alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels in the treated groups B (490.00 ± 38.00), C (630.00± 60.00), D (370.00±20.00) when compared with the control A (350.00±11.00).
Rats in group B (250mg/kg EEUC), C (500mg/kg EEUC), and D(1000mg/kg EEUC) had mean urea values of 3.80± 0.31, 3.30±0.28 and 3.50± 0.18mg/dl respectively and these were significantly lower than the mean urea value of the control 5.00± 0.19mg/dl (p>0.05).
However, alanine transaminase obtained for B (56.00± 1.90 iu/l) were not significantly different from 56.00± 5.20 u/l obtained for the control (p>o.05).
Similarly, there were no significant differences in aspartate transaminase values of group B (70.00±7.30), C (64.00±3.10) and D(78.00±5.20u/l) when compared with the control of group A (76.00 ± 6.70 u/l) (p>0.05).
Rats in the treated groups B (71.00±5.85mg/dl), C (81.00± 4.20mg/dl) and D (64.00±6.70mg/dl) had no significant increase in their creatinine levels when compared with the control (77.00±4.30mg/dl) (p>0.05).
Introduction
Background of Study
Uvaria chamae belongs to the family Annonaceae (Irvine, 1961). It is a small tree that grows to about 4.5m high. It is commonly found in the savanna and rain forest regions of Nigeria and other African countries.
It is called “Mmimi ohia”, “Kas kaifi” and “Akisan” amongst the Ibos, Hausas and Yorubas respectively (Adetunji, 1999). The fruits are yellow when ripe and have a sweet pulp which is widely eaten. The fruit carpels are in finger-like clusters. All parts of the plant are fragrant.
The root barks, stem barks and leaves have a wide spread medicinal use. In Nigeria a decoction of the stem is used for the treatment of diarrhea (Igoli et al., 2005). In Ghana, severe abdominal pain is treated by a root extract with native pepper in gin.
The root with Guinea grains is used in application to the fontanelle for cerebral diseases. Among the Fula people of Senegal, the root has a reputation as the “medicine of Riches”.
It is also considered to be a woman’s medicine used to treat amenorrhea and to prevent miscarriage (Burkill, 1985), and in Togo, root decoction is given for pains of childbirth. The plant is used to make pomade in Ghana (Irvine, 1961).
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