Acute Toxicity and In vivo Antioxidant Activity Evaluation of Aqueous Extracts from Phyllanthus odontadenius Müll. Arg.

Aims: Phyllanthus odontadenius is one of medicinal plants from Phyllanthus genus traditionally used for treatment of a good number diseases including malaria. As indeed for any other drug, P. odontadenius could present risks of intoxication for users. This study aims to evaluate the antioxidant activity and acute toxicity in vivo of P. odontadenius using rats and mices.

Study Design: P. odontadenius plants harvested and dried, plant powders preparation by lyophilization and aqueous extracts preparation, weighed animals (mice’s and rats) and drug administration or not for control by gavages’; Monitoring in cages after 7 or 8 days. Animal Sacrifice and Blood draw; dosage of biochemical parameters (urea, creatinine, AST, ALT, GGT and PAL).

Place and Duration of Study: Division of Life Sciences, General Atomic Energy Commission, Regional Nuclear Studies Center of Kinshasa, P.O. Box. 868 Kinshasa XI (DRC). MPI and pharmacognosy laboratories in the National Biochemical Research Institute (INRB). The experiments were conducted from from October 19, 2021 to January 21, 2022.

Methodology: The aqueous extracts from the aerial parts of P. odontadenius harvested in three different sites (Cécomaf/Kinshasa, Kasangulu/Kongo Central and Pont-Kwango/Kwango) were administered respectively to the test mice (2,500 mg/kg of body weight in one dose) and to the test rats (250 and 500 mg/kg body weight each day) after poisoning with lead acetate (50 mg/kg body weight. And distilled water administered to control mice and rats (10 ml/kg body weight). The effects of these extracts on body and organ weights and on biochemical parameters (urea, creatinine, AST, ALT, GGT and PAL) were analyzed.

Results: Regarding acute toxicity, the administration of a single dose of 2500 mg/Kg to mice had no significant effects on body weight as well as on biochemical parameters in mice. The weights of organs like the heart and kidneys were affected in comparison with the mice to the control. Regarding the antioxidant activity in vivo, the toxicity effects induced by lead acetate were not visible thanks to the treatment with the aqueous extracts of P. odontadenius, which would justify the presence of the phenolic compounds at the base of the reduction of effects could be caused by the reactive oxygen species (ROS) lead induced.

Conclusion: At the end of this work, it appears that the single dose administration of the 2500 mg/kg does not cause significant signs of toxicity in mice. Treatment of rats with P. odontadenius aqueous extracts (250 and 500 mg/kg) after their poisoning reduced the toxic effects due to free radicals caused by lead acetate.