Authors : S.O. Odesanmi, R.A. Lawal and S.A. Ojokuku
Abstract: Tetrapleura tetraptera fruit has wide use in South East and Western Nigeria as a spice as well as a plant to treat various medical ailments. It has been reported that feeding of extracts to animals produced some toxic effects and pathological lesions in some organs. This study was designed to investigate the hepatotoxic effects of 10 days oral administration of the ethanolic extract of Tetrapleura Tetraptera (TTE) in mature male rabbits. Twenty healthy acclimatized male rabbits (1.4-1.6 kg) body weight were randomly assigned to 4 groups. Animals in group 1 served as the control and received only water and no extract. Animals in groups 2-4 were administered 50, 100 and 150 mg kg-1 bodyweight of TTE. All animals were fasted for 18 h after withdrawal of treatment and sacrificed after anaesthesia. Venous blood sample of groups were analyzed for liver function parameters. Histopathological examination of internal organs was also carried out. TTE caused elevation in serum AST and alteration of various metabolic parameters and did not induce any marked pathological lesions in the liver.
S.O. Odesanmi, R.A. Lawal and S.A. Ojokuku, 2009. Effects of Ethanolic Extract of Tetrapleura tetraptera on Liver Function Profile and Histopathology in Male Dutch White Rabbits. International Journal of Tropical Medicine, 4: 136-139.