Abstract

Increasing interest in medicinal plants has increased scientific scrutiny of their therapeutic potentials and safety thereby providing physicians with data to help patients make wise decision on their usage. The stem bark of Ximenia americanawas evaluated for its phytochemical constituents and acute toxicity effect on thirty Swiss albino mice. The extracts were administered intraperitoneally/orally at doses of 10, 100, and 1000 mg/kg body weight. The results revealed no death with doses up to 5000 mg/kg body weight. However, the initial reactions included excitement, restlessness, lack of appetite and later reduced activity during the first 24 h of extract administration. The symptoms were dose dependent with signs noticeable with increasing dosage. Post mortem, hematological and histopathological examination did not show any significant (P<0.05) damage as a result of the extract administration. However, there were significant (P<0.05) weight changes. Phytochemical screening of the aqueous stem bark extract revealed the presence of cardiac glycosides, flavonoids, saponins, and tannin. The results suggest that the aqueous extract is not acutely toxic to the mice.

Key words: Ximenia americana, toxicity, phytochemicals.