ABSTRACT
The objective of this study was to investigate the acute and sub-acute toxicity of the aqueous and ethanol extracts derived from the leaf and root of Stachytarpheta jamaicensis through the utilisation of animal models. In the investigation on acute toxicity, Swiss albino mice were orally delivered single doses of 50, 100, 500, and 5000 mg/kg of body weight. Within a span of 72 hours, many indicators of toxicity, including mortality, grooming behaviour, nausea, writhing, and other manifestations of disease, were meticulously examined and documented. The subacute toxicity investigation was conducted by delivering varying doses (50, 100, 500, and 2000 mg/kg per body weight) of the extract to albino Wistar rats over a period of 21 consecutive days. In both experiments, animals were provided distilled water as a control treatment. The animals were slaughtered and tissue and blood samples were obtained 24 hours after the administration of the final doses. Subsequently, a complete blood count, assessment of biochemical parameters, and histopathological examinations were conducted. Histopathological analysis was conducted on several crucial organs, including the heart, kidney, liver, spleen, and ileum of the rats. These organs were extracted to perform gross examinations and were afterwards compared to those of the control group. The findings obtained from the acute toxicity research demonstrated that the LD50 values for all extracts exceeded 5000 mg/kg, as no indications of morbidity or fatality were seen. The sub-acute toxicity investigations demonstrated that there were no adverse effects observed in the haematological, biochemical, and histological parameters of the blood and vital organs, respectively. Nevertheless, a notable disparity (p > 0.05) was detected in the relative weights of organs and body weights when comparing the high dose of 2000 mg/kg to the control group. This study thus provides novel evidence that the oral administration of aqueous and ethanol extracts derived from the leaf and root of Stachytarpheta jamaicensis at low to medium doses over a period of 21 days does not induce any harmful effects.
