Abstract

Objective: To determine the toxicity of Sapium ellipticum (S. ellipticum) ethanol leaf extract in animal model. Methods: Three groups (I, II and III, n = 10) of Wistar rats were respectively given 0.5 mL corn oil, 400 and 800 mg/kg BW of S. ellipticum extract, twice daily, for a period of 14 days. Lethal dose (LD50) was determined and morbidity was assessed via repeated dose administration of the extract. Results: S. ellipticum at the doses employed did not cause any significant changes in the serum concentrations of ALT, AST and ALP compared to the control group. The level of total serum cholesterol was significantly (P ˂ 0.05) and dose-dependently reduced in the extracttreated animals by 13.5% and 16.0% compared to the control animals. Total plasma protein concentration and body weight were respectively increased by 8.7% and 13.7% at 800 mg dosage of the extract. The intraperitoneal (i.p.) and intramuscular (i.m.) LD50 values of S. ellipticum leaf extract were determined as 979.80 and 1 341.60 mg/kg BW respectively while the oral (p.o.) LD50 was estimated to be greater than 45 000 mg/kg BW. Conclusions: The observations noted in this study apparently validate the use of S. ellipticum ethanol leaf extract in folklore medicine in terms of herbal safety.

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