Therapeutic Assessment of Aqueous Leaf Extract of Sterculia Tragacanta (Bitter Tree) on Biochemical Parameters and Histology of the Liver of Sprague Dawley Rats

Medicinal plants when consumed have been known to cause various degrees of toxicity to the liver. Sterculia tragacantha has been used for therapeutic remedies for the treatment of disease such as diabetics, diarrhoea, dysentery, arthritis, witlow and jaundice. The aim of this study was on the assessment of aqueous leaf extract of Sterculia tragacantha (bitter tree) on biochemical parameters and histology of the liver of Sprague dawley rats. Twenty nine Sprague dawley rats weighing 100-136g were randomly divided into four groups of five animals per group and administered orally for fourteen days. Group I: Normal control were given food and distilled water, Group II: Low dose were given 44.72mg/kg/day, medium dose were given 89.44mg/kg/day and high dose given 134.16mg/kg/day. The animals were sacrificed by chloroform inhalation method, blood samples were obtained by cardiac puncture into plain specimen containers for analysis of liver function. The liver tissue were removed and fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin, grossed and histologically processed, microtomed and stained with Hematoxylin & Eosin and Periodic Acid Schiff (PAS) staining technique respectively. Results from this study showed that the LD50 was 447.21kg/body weight, no significant differences between the test and control result of the serum levels of the liver function parameters (total bilirubin, aspartate transaminase, alanine transaminase and alkaline phosphatase) although, all are statistically insignificant. Histologically, with Hematoxylin and Eosin stain, medium and high dose of S. tragacantha extract might cause mild inflammatory cell to the portal triad area. While on periodic acid Schiff stain, S. tragacantha extract showed no morphological changes on the glycogen of the liver. Hence, from this findings administration of S. tragacantha was found to be safe at low dose and do not cause significant changes in the liver function test parameters on the liver histology and glycogen deposits. It is recommended that a low dose of S. tragacantha is safe for twenty nine animals for study use.