Effects of Consumption of Methanol Extracts of Ficus platyphylla Del. Holl and Ximenia americana L. on Liver Function Indices in Albino Rats

Abstract

Ficus platyphylla Del. Holl and Ximenia americana L. are medicinal plants used in the treatment of several diseases. This study was  designed to investigate their effects on some markers of hepatotoxicity in albino rats. Twenty-four (24) adult Wistar rats of both sexes  were divided into four (4) groups of six (6) rats each. Groups 1, 2, 3, and 4 were treated with distilled water, F. platyphylla, X. americana,  and a mixture of F. platyphylla and X. americana extracts, respectively. LD50 showed that all three extracts are not toxic even at values as  high as 5000 mg/kg body weight. A dose of 250 mg/kg body weight was administered orally daily for twenty-one (21) days, after which  blood samples were collected in a clean container and centrifuged for 10 minutes at 3000 rpm. The serum obtained was used for  biochemical analysis. Markers of hepatocellular injury specifically, ALT, AST, albumin, total bilirubin, and protein, were assayed  accordingly. The activity of ALT showed no significant (p>0.05) difference in group 4 with the control. In AST, there was a significant  difference (p<0.05) between group 4 and the control group. There was a significant difference (p<0.05) in total bilirubin across the groups  when compared to the control, there is no significant difference in total protein between group 3 and the control group. For  albumin, group 4 was not significantly (p>0.05) different from the control. These findings illustrated that aqueous extracts of X. americana  and F. platyphylla are not hepatotoxic and may, therefore be considered safe for consumption as medicinal plants