Analgesic and Hepatoprotective Activity of Methanolic Leaf Extract of Ocimum gratissimum (L.).

The methanolic extract of Ocimum gratissimum (L.) leaves was screened for analgesic and hepatoprotective activity in albino rats, respectively. The use of the hot-plate method to study central analgesic activity of the leaves extract in albino rats indicated that the extract possesses the ability to significantly reduce pain threshold and also increase the response latency period to thermal stimuli in albino rats, similar to the reference drug acetylsalicylic acid. After treatment reaction time of albino rats was significantly increased to 10.92 sec with 40 mg kg-1 of leaves extract, whereas acetylsalicylic acid also increased reaction time to 12.53 sec with 25 mL kg-1. A decline in the reaction time beyond 1.61 sec was observed by the reference drug and leaves extract. Albino rats whose livers were damaged with a hepatotoxin-Carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) 0.5 mL kg-1 i.p. were used to test for hepatoprotective properties of the plant leaves extract. It reduced significantly (p<0.05) liver enzyme levels for animals treated with CCL4 (0.5 mL kg-1) and the methanolic plant leaf extract (40 mg kg-1) concurrently compared to animals treated with CCL4 only. Many histopathological changes in the liver such as marked dilation of the central vein, blood vessel congestion and inflammatory leucocytic infiltrations which were observed in the CCl4 treated animals were not observed in the CCl4 + plant extract treated animals. No apparent disruptions of the normal liver structure by histological and enzyme activities assessment were observed. The results show that the methanolic leaf extract is a potent analgesic and antihepatotoxic agent

Evaluation of the biochemical, haematological and histopathological parameters of female Wistar rats fed with aqueous and ethanol extracts of Aspilia africana leaves.

Introduction: Aspilia africana is a plant commonly used to stop bleeding, heal wound, and manage various stomach complaints. This study aimed at evaluating the impact of aqueous and ethanol leaf extracts of A. africana on biochemical (liver function tests, renal function tests, and lipid profile), histopathological (kidney and liver) and haematological parameters of the female Wistar rats. Methods: To study acute toxicity, the median lethal dose (LD50) was determined by oral administration of different doses of the extract to 8 groups of 3 rats each and the animals were observed for 24 hours for signs of toxicity. To evaluate the toxicological effect of the extract, 3 groups of 5 animals each received 0.5 mL normal saline (control), 250 or 500 mg/kg of the extracts for 2 consecutive weeks. Results: Data revealed the LD50 of the extract to be >5000 mg/kg.bw. There was no significant variation in organosomatic indices of the animals fed with aqueous and ethanol extracts of A. africana leaves. In comparison with the control, there were significant increases (p<0.05) in serum liver and kidney biomarkers, high density lipoprotein, and white blood cells while some red cells indices, platelets, some lipid profile levels reduced significantly (p<0.05). A marked alteration in hepatic and renal architectures was also observed. Conclusion: The result of this study shows that the A. africana leaf may not be safe as medicine despite the outcome of LD50 acute toxicity studies. For it to be integrated in folk medicine, we recommend its use at minimal doses