PRELIMINARY PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING, ACUTE TOXICITY AND LAXATIVE ACTIVITY ON THE LEAVES OF EUPHORBIA BALSAMIFERA AIT (EUPHORBIACEAE)
SANI SHEHU1,2, *, UWAISU ILIYASU2 , AISHA IBRAHIM BARAU2 , NANA AISHA MUHAMMAD1
1. Department of Pharmacognosy and Ethnomedicine, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto.
2. Department of Pharmacognosy and Drug Development, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kaduna State University, Kaduna.
Afr. J Pharm Res Dev; Volume 11(2): 095-099 ; 2019
ABSTRACT.
Euphorbia balsamifera [Ait] is a low shrub or a small tree belonging to the family Euphorbiaceae. It grows to a height of about 2-5 meters tall and is indigenous to the Canary Islands, North America, West Africa, Somalia and South of the Arabian Peninsula. The roots and leaves of the E. balsamifera are strongly laxative. The study was aimed at evaluating the phytochemical constituents, acute toxicity and laxative activity of the leaves of E. balsamifera in rats. The dried powdered leaves was macerated with with 70% ethanol for 72 hours. The preliminary phytochemical screening using standard procedures, acute oral toxicity test based on OECD guidelines and laxative study were carried out. The preliminary phytochemical screening revealed the presence of steroids/triterpenes, tannins, anthraquinones and cardiac glycosides. The LD50 of the extract was found to be greater than 5000 mg/kg when administered orally. There was increase in faecal output in both doses (400 and 800 mg/kg) and significant (at p < 0.05) only in the group administered 800 mg/kg of the extract. The leaves extract was found to be practically nontoxic and posses laxative potentials.
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KEYWORDS: Extract; Nontoxic; Faecal.