Biochemical and toxicological effects of methanolic extract of Asparagus africanus Lam in Sprague-Dawley rats

Abubakar El-Ishaq; Mohammed A Alshawsh; Kein Seong Mun; Zamri Chik

doi:10.7717/peerj.9138

Biochemical and toxicological effects of methanolic extract of Asparagus africanus Lam in Sprague-Dawley rats

PeerJ. 2020 Jun 22:8:e9138. doi: 10.7717/peerj.9138. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Abubakar El-Ishaq^{1

2}, Mohammed A Alshawsh², Kein Seong Mun³, Zamri Chik^{2

4}

Affiliations

¹ Science Laboratory Technology Department, School of Science and Technology, Federal Polytechnic, Damaturu, Yobe State, Nigeria.
² Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
³ Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
⁴ University of Malaya Bioequivalence Testing Centre (UBAT), Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Abstract

Asparagus africanus Lam. is a plant used traditionally to treat different ailments. Currently, scanty information is available on its safety. The aim of this study is to determine the acute toxicity of the methanolic extract on vital organs and its associated biochemical parameters. Fifteen female Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into five groups. Group I served as normal control, groups II, III, IV, and V were orally administered single dose of crude extract dissolved in distilled water at 5 mg/kg BW, 50 mg/kg BW, 300 mg/kg BW and 2,000 mg/kg BW. Rats were observed for 14 days and body weights were recorded. On day 15, the rats were sacrificed and blood samples were collected for biochemical and haematological analyses, while the liver and kidneys were sampled for histopathological examination. Body weight and haematology parameters results showed significance difference (p < 0.05) among means of HGB, RDW, RBC, and MCHC; likewise, (p < 0.001) for WBC and platelet among treated groups. Histopathology result showed that kidneys appeared normal while livers were congested with mildly swollen hepatocytes and occasional binucleation. Focal lobular hepatitis was observed in all treated animals. However, hepatic enzymes were not significantly affected and no histopathological harmful effects were observed in kidney. In conclusion, methanolic extracts of A. africanus are safe up to 2,000 mg/kg BW. The obtained results could be used as a justification for the traditional application of the plant for treatment of various ailments.

Keywords: Antifertility; Asparagus africanus; Biochemical; Contraceptive; Haematology and toxicity.

Grants and funding

The University of Malaya IPPP provided the grant to finance this research project with grant number PG112-2014B. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.