Acute and Sub-Chronic Toxicity of Aqueous Extracts of Chenopodium ambrosioides Leaves in Rats

Journal of Medicinal Food

Acute and Sub-Chronic Toxicity of Aqueous Extracts of Chenopodium ambrosioides Leaves in Rats

To cite this article:
da Silva Marcel Gianni C., Amorim Raimundo Neilson L., Câmara Carlos C., Fontenele Neto José Domingues, and Soto-Blanco Benito. Journal of Medicinal Food. September 2014, 17(9): 979-984. doi:10.1089/jmf.2013.0134.

Published in Volume: 17 Issue 9: September 4, 2014
Online Ahead of Print: June 3, 2014

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Author information

Marcel Gianni C. da Silva,¹ Raimundo Neilson L. Amorim,² Carlos C. Câmara,² José Domingues Fontenele Neto,² and Benito Soto-Blanco³

¹Secretariat of Public Health, Jardim do Seridó, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.

²Department of Animal Sciences, Federal Rural University of Semi-Árido, Mossoró, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.

³Department of Veterinary Clinic and Surgery, College of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Address correspondence to: Benito Soto-Blanco, DVM, MSc, PhD, Departamento de Clínica e Cirurgia Veterinárias, Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido, Av. Antônio Carlos 6627, Belo Horizonte, MG, 30123-970, Brazil, E-mail: benito.blanco@pq.cnpq.br

Manuscript received 19 July 2013
Revision accepted 22 February 2014

ABSTRACT

The present study aimed to evaluate the toxicity of aqueous extract of Chenopodium ambrosioides leaves. To measure acute toxicity, rats were administered 0, 0.3, 1.0, or 3.0 g/kg of aqueous extract from C. ambrosioides leaves by gavage. To analyze sub-chronic toxicity, rats were treated by oral gavage for 15 consecutive days with 0, 0.3, or 1.0 g/kg of extract of C. ambrosioides leaves. No animals from either trial exhibited any signs of toxicity. In the acute study, the highest dose of the extract led to an increase in the serum activities of alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST) and a decrease in the serum levels of urea. In the sub-chronic test, rats treated with 1.0 g/kg for 15 days exhibited increased serum ALT activity and creatinine levels and mild cytoplasmic vacuolation of hepatocytes. The results indicate that aqueous extract from C. ambrosioides leaves produce slight hepatotoxic lesions in rats.