Abstract

Ricinus communis oil (RCO) has been used and shown to possess laxative, contraceptive, labour inducing, cosmetics and estrogenic capabilities. Despite these, there is paucity of studies on the effects of maternal RCO exposure at different stages of pregnancy. This study investigated effects of RCO exposure on maternal biochemical, hormonal and histopathology of reproductive organs. RCO was prepared by cold extraction using methanol and subjected to physicochemical analysis, gas chromatography (GC) and mass spectrometry (MS). Acute oral toxicity was done by limit test procedure. Twenty five pregnant rats randomly assigned to 5 equal groups were treated with distilled water (control, group 1), RCO (950 mg/kg p.o) during gestation days (GD) 1 to 7, 7 to 14, 14 to 21 and 1 to 21 (groups 2 to 5), respectively. Maternal hormonal, biochemical, and histopathology of reproductive organs were determined. Data were analyzed using Student’s t-test and ANOVA. RCO showed no lethality up to 5000 mg/kg body weight. Serum alanine aminotransferase of GD 7 to 14 and 14 to 21 decreased significantly when compared with control. Aspartate aminotransferase decreased significantly in GD 1 to 7, 7 to 14, and 1 to 21. Total cholesterol, triglyceraldehyde and high-density lipoprotein increased while progesterone and estrogen levels decreased significantly in RCO treated groups. There were no lesions in the histology of the ovary of all treated groups; however, GD 1 to 7 and 7 to 14 showed resorption and ballooning of the uterine epithelial tissues, respectively. Exposure to RCO at early gestation periods impacted negatively on reproductive hormones, lipid profiles and histopathology of the uterus.

Key words: Ricinus communis oil, estrogenic, gas chromatography, gestation days, lipid profiles, uterine damage.