Acute and Subacute Toxicity of Aqueous Extract of Leaves Mixture of Aloe Buettneri (Liliaceae), Dicliptera Verticillata (Acanthaeae), Hibiscus Macranthus (Malvaceae) and Justicia Insularis (Acanthaceae) on Swiss Mice and Albinos Wistar Female Rats

Aloe buettneri (Liliaceae), Justicia insularis (Acanthaceae), Hibiscus macranthus (Malvaceae), Dicliptera verticillata (Acanthaceae) (ADHJ) are medicinal plants generally found in tropical and subtropical areas. The leaf mixture of these plants is used in the Western Region of Cameroon to increase the fertility, to regularize the menstrual cycle and to treat dysmenorrhoea or cases of infertility in women. In order to evaluate the toxicity of the mixture extract of these plants, the values of their LD50 and LD100 were determined in Swiss mice and the subacute toxicity studied in albinos Wistar female rats. The herbal drug induces changes in the physiological and biochemical parameters. These include changes in body and vital organ weights, in serum, hepatic, ovarian and uterine proteins and in AST, ALT and creatinine levels. The LD50 and LD100 in male mice were 27 and 32 g/kg respectively. The behaviour of the mice treated with the doses varying between 8 to 32 g/kg was significantly changed. The leaf mixture of the plants has significantly increased the reproductive organ weights of treated female rats. The serum level, uterine and ovarian proteins as well as the creatinine level increased significantly while the hepatic protein level decreased. The rate of A.S.T remained unchanged while the rate of A.L.T increased when animals were treated at the rate of 100 mg/kg. These results suggests on one hand that aqueous extract is not short-term poisonous but presents unfavourable effects in the long run (60 days) and on the other hand that the aqueous extract have a direct action on the reproductive organs and cause disturbances on cellular metabolism.