Abstract

Senna alata is a medicinal plant that belongs to Leguminosae family. Different parts of the plant are used in folklore medicine for curing skin infections, abdominal pain, and gonorrhoea. Despite the use of S. alata in the treatment of various ailments, there is limited or no comprehensive scientific information on the toxicological evaluation of the dried leaf extract in the folklore medicine in Africa. This study therefore evaluated the extensive toxicological effects of the aqueous dried leaf extract of S. alata in wistar rats. In acute toxicity test, aqueous dried leaf extract of S. alata were administered orally up to 10 g/kg body weight to male wistar rats. In sub-acute study, the wistar rats were daily administered orally with aqueous dried leaf extract of S. alata at doses of 250, 500 and 1000 mg/kg for 14 days and haematological and biochemical parameters were determined and a histopathology of the liver and kidney were analysed. The results revealed that in acute toxicity study, no death was recorded within 24 h after oral administration. In the sub-acute study, the extract did not exhibit any significant difference (p > 0.05) on haemoglobin, red blood cells and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration in all the tested doses. Significant differences (p > 0.05) were observed on white blood cell, platelet, urea, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. The histopathology of the liver and kidney did not reveal any pathological changes. Our findings revealed that aqueous dried leaf extract of S. alata is not toxic at the tested doses, indicating that it is safe for therapeutic uses at the tested doses.

Key words: Haematology, hepatic and renal function, sub-acute toxicity, histopathology, Senna alata.