Abstract

Pterocarpus erinaceus (fabaceae) is used in the Nigerian folk medicine as well as in other African savanna countries to treat diarrhea, dysentery, urethral discharges, fever, and as an ingredient in abortifacient prescriptions. It is also used in arresting bleeding and as a dressing on ring worm of the scalp. The acute toxicity profile as well as possible haemostatic activity of the ethanolic stem bark extract of the plant after sub acute oral administration was studied in albino Wistar rats. The intraperitoneal LD₅₀ of the extract was found to be 447.21 mg/kg, while the oral LD₅₀ was > 5000 mg/kg. Administration of the extract for 30 days orally revealed a significant (P < 0.05) decrease in bleeding time in the group of rats treated with 200 mg extract/kg body weight compared to control. The clotting time and other haematological parameters like haemoglobin (Hb) concentration, platelet counts, packed cell volume (PCV), white blood cell count (WBC) were not significantly different from control. None of the rats used in the sub-acute toxicity studies died during the study period. The ethanolic stem bark extract of P. erinaceus may thus be practically non-toxic through the (oral) route and may contain some biologically active principle(s) which may be responsible for the haemostasis.

Key words: Pterocarpus erinaceus, Haemostasis, bleeding.