In vivo toxicological study of aqueous extracts of Vitex payos fruits

Abstract

The plant Vitex payos is used in folk medicine to treat several ailments. Despite Vitex payos’, ethno medicinal benefits, very few studies have described the fruits’ potential toxicity. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the in vivo acute and subchronic toxicity of aqueous extracts of Vitex payos fruits which grow in Zimbabwe on Sprague Dawley rats. Aqueous extraction of Vitex payos fruits was performed by using standard routine methods. The extract administered at a single dose of 5000 mg/kg did not produce treatment related signs of toxicity or mortality in any of the treated animals during the 14-day observation period. Therefore, the Lethal dose 50% of Vitex payos was estimated to be more than 5000 mg/kg. In the, 90 day repeated dose oral toxicity study, twenty (20) adult Sprague Dawley rats were uniformly divided into four groups of 5 rats each. Group 1 served as a control while groups 2, 3 and 4 were respectively orally administered with 100 mg/kg body weight, 400 mg/kg body weight and 800 mg/kg body weight of the Vitex payos aqueous extract daily. The results revealed no significant difference in food and water consumption, body weight change and biochemical parameters, compared to the control group which received only distilled water. Histopathology examinations of the liver and kidney did not reveal morphological alteration. Analysis of these results with the information of signs, health monitoring and behaviour, could lead to the conclusion that the long-term oral administration of Vitex payos aqueous extract for 90 days does not cause sub chronic toxicity.