Subchronic toxicity studies of butanol fraction of leaves of moringa Stenopetala in experimental rats

Moringa stenopetala belongs to the family Moringaceae, and the family comprises a single genus
Moringa. The genus Moringa comprises about 14 different species and is endemic to the Northeast
tropical Africa. Moringa stenopetala is often referred to as the East African Moringa tree because it is
native only to Southern Ethiopia and Northern Kenya, and is not as widely known as its close relative,
Moringa oleifera of India. M. stenopetala is cultivated in terraced fields, gardens and small towns.
The current study was conducted as an laboratory based experiment, on experimental rats. The study
has been carried out in School of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University
(AAU), and Ethiopian Health and Nutrition Research Institute (EHNRI). The chronic toxicity study
was conducted, based on the OECD 408 guideline (OECD, 1998), for nine weeks (63 days) to
examine the toxicity of the fraction on some blood parameters and histopathology of the liver and
kidneys. For this study healthy adult rats of both sexes were used. The present study was aimed to
investigate the chronic toxic effect of the butanol fraction of leaves of Moringa stenopetala in
experimental rats. The present study also helps us to know the histopathological changes due to
butanol fraction of leaves of Moringa stenopetala in experimental rats.
The sub-chronic toxicity study was carried out by oral administration of the butanol fraction of the
leaves at 500mg/kg and 1000mg/kg, for group II and III rats respectively, while the control group (I)
received distilled water. Throughout the study period the general appearance and behavior of treated
rats showed no significant differences as compared with the controls. Liver and kidneys of rats are
used by many researchers to assess the safety or toxicity of drugs or plant materials (Graaf, 1995 and
Satyapal et al., 2008.)
In the chronic toxicity study, results showed that the fraction did not produce adverse effects. These
findings indicate that chronic exposure to the fraction does not lead to toxicity. The fraction did not
significantly, induce severe toxic effects on the gross and histopathology of the liver and kidneys of
treated rats, except infiltration of inflammatory cells around the portal area of the liver and Bowman’s
capsule of the kidney sections.
Further a brief bio chemical and hematological study has to be conducted to know in deep the effect
of butanol fraction of leaves of moringa stenopetala in experimental rats.