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Acute and Chronic Hepatotoxicity Study of Orally Administered Ethanol Extract of Carica papaya Seeds in Adult Wistar Rats
並列摘要
Carica papaya seed extracts have shown great promise in the quest for the development of natural plant based male contraceptive. This study investigates the acute and chronic hepatotoxicity of ethanol extract of C. papaya seeds in adult Wistar rats. The OECD up-and-down method was used in the acute oral toxicity test using 5 nulliparous, nonpregnant female wistar rats weighing between 180 and 200 g and observed for 14 days. The chronic hepatotoxicity study involved the use of 15 male wistar rats which were divided into 3 groups of 5 each. Group I which served as control were orally administered distilled water while groups II and III received 100 and 250 mg/kg/day of ethanol extract of C. papaya seeds respectively for a period of 90 days. Histological investigation of the liver and serum levels of AST, ALT and ALP were carried out at the end of the administration. Result obtained for the acute oral toxicity showed no mortality or morbidity. There was no significant loss of fur and skin lesions, nose and eyes appeared clear and normal. There was no diarrhea, convulsion, salivation, tremors, lethargy, sleep or coma and animals did not show any sign of aggression or unusual behavior during handling. For the chronic hepatotoxicity study, the histology of the liver, hematological indices and serum levels of AST, ALT and ALP showed no significant difference between the control and experimental groups. The study thus concludes that ethanol extract of C. papaya seeds is non-toxic and safe.