Abstract

Cissus populnea is a plant whose medicinal benefits have been well but there is a dearth of studies on subacute toxicity of any part of the plant. The aim of the study is to ascertain the subacute toxicity of the aqueous stem extract of C. populnea in Wistar albino rats. Forty animals (20 males and 20 females) grouped into 8 groups (n=5) (4 males, 4 females) were used. The animals were treated with daily oral doses (125mg/kg, 250mg/kg, and 500mg/kg) of the extract for 28 days, while the
control groups received distilled water. The animals were weighed at 7-day intervals. After the test period, the animals were anaesthetised. Blood samples were taken for haematological and biochemical analysis, the organs were harvested and weighed. There was no significant (p>0.05) difference between the weight of the control groups and all the treated groups. Treatment with the various doses of the extract did not cause any significant (p>0.05) changes in the relative organ weight,
biochemical parameters, red blood cell count, haemoglobin, and white blood cell count of the experimental animals. Oral administration of the aqueous stem extract of C. populnea in the doses used in this study caused no observable toxic effect on the experimental animals

Key words: Cissus populnea, biochemical parameters, haematological parameters, subacute toxicity, Wistar albino rats