TOXICITY EVALUATION OF ETHANOL ROOT EXTRACT OF Moringa oleifera LAM. ON ORGANS AND BODY WEIGHT

ABSTRACT

Medicinal plants constitute major priority in primary health care. However, the therapeutic benefits of any plant material must be evaluated against adverse effect. This study was aimed at assessing the toxicity of sub-chronic administration of ethanolic root extract of Moringa oleifera on organ and body weight parameters in Wistar rats. Eighteen adult albino Wistar rats, weighing between 152 g- 292 g were used for the study. The extract was prepared using fresh roots of the plant collected from Obe Quarters, Benin City, Edo State. The roots of the plant were shade dried and then pulverized to powdered form. The extract was obtained by cold maceration of the powdered roots in 99% ethanol at room temperature for 72 hours at 50 oC filtered and evaporated to dryness in a drying oven. The rats were assigned randomly into four groups (Group I-IV), consisting of three replicates. Groups I-III received a daily oral dose of 150, 300 and 600 mg/kg of the extract respectively for 21 consecutive days, while Group IV received distilled water to serve as the control. The differences in body weight, organ weight and organ-body weight ratio were found to be statistically not significant (p>0.05) throughout the duration of the study. Evidently, the plant extract is relatively safe within the experimental dose.