SUBCHRONIC TOXICITY STUDY

ABSTRACT

Uraria picta is a very essential plant of leguminosae family found in India and in most tropic regions such as Africa, Australia and Asia. 12 Uraria picta is known to be used as traditional medicine for the treatment of many diseases and ailments such as oral ulcer, cough, fatigue, gonorrhea, fracture healing, snake bite etc. However, this study focuses on the effects of Uraria picta on the liver function. . It was also intended to provide data for proper dose selection of the plant extract. Biochemical analysis were conducted to determine the effects of 28 days administration of Uraria picta on the liver of male rats. Twenty five (25) healthy male rats weighing about 100g to 120g were divided into 5 groups of 5 member rats each and were fed with rat feeds along with water ad libitum. Different doses of the range; 50mg/kg, 300mg/ kg, 1000mg/kg, 2000mg/kg of the plant extract were administered to the experimental group 1 to 4 respectively, while group 5 was used as the control. Biochemical parameters of the liver function determined include Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), Aspartate aminotransferase (AST). Changes in the body weight of the rats and the relative liver weight were also determined after 28 days of administration. At the end of the study, Uraria picta does not cause lethal damage to the liver after 28 days.