Evaluation of toxicity of Bilsaan stem bark extracts in Swiss Albino mice
Evaluation of acute toxicity of bilsaanAbstract
Objective: Sambucus nigra commonly known as Bilsaan is used extensively in traditional medicine in Saudi Arabia to treat various types of illness. The establishment of safe dose of S. nigra is crucial while considering health-promoting benefits as exposure to excess amount may cause undesirable effects. The aim of the present
study was to evaluate the acute oral toxicity of ethanolic (Eth) and methanolic (Meth) extracts from the bark of Bilsaan (Bil) in mice.
Materials and Methods: The acute oral toxicity study of Eth-Bil and Meth-Bil extracts was carried out by the administration of 10, 100, and 1000 mg/kg body weight to mice in the 1st phase. According to the observation of the 1st phase, the Eth-Bil extract was given 50, 100, 200, and 400 while Meth-Bil was administered 200, 400, 800, and 1600 mg/kg body weight.
Results: The LD50 of the S. nigra (Bilsaan) methanol and ethanol extracts in mice was determined to be 31.62 mg/kg body weight for both of the extracts as calculated by Lorke’s method. The gross observation of systemic organs demonstrated 10–90% increase in the weight of organs of animals treated with increasing concentration
of extracts in comparison to control. Similarly, the hematological analyses also showed abnormality and reduction in total leukocytes count exposed with the higher concentration of extracts.
Conclusions: The results indicate that the oral administration of Eth-Bil and Meth-Bil extracts produce a significant toxic effect in mice but support in the establishment of safe dose range, as the intake of high doses of S. nigra (Bilsaan) extracts may exhibit mild organ toxicity.
Keywords:
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).