Abstract :
Phyllanthus amarus Schumach. & Thonn is used traditionally in the treatment of
liver diseases. The main objective of our study is to evaluate the toxicity or the effects
of the acute oral administration of the ethanol extract of this plant. Exploratory tests
for acute oral toxicity are performed in vivo on Wistar albino rats in a limit test of
2000 mg/kg in accordance with the OECD Guidelines. The various clinical signs
observed after administration and for 14 days were recorded and no mortality was
observed. With the exception of red blood cells and hemoglobin, whose statistical
difference from the control was significant (p 0,05).
Concerning the biochemical parameters, except glycemia and the total proteins of the
control batches which show a significant statistical difference after 14 days (p> 0.05),
all the other biochemical parameters show insignificant statistical difference in the
test batches and Controls (p> 0.05) as well as the weight variation of the animals. The
ethanolic extract of Phyllanthus amarus therefore has no toxic effect on the
biochemical and haematological parameters studied at a dose of 2000 mg/kg. The
lethal dose of the ethanolic extract of Phyllanthus amarus is greater than 2000 mg/
kg.
Keyword :
Phyllanthus amarus Schumach. & Thonn, extract, toxicity, oral, acute, lethal.