Antihepatotoxic and Trypanocidal Activities of the Ethanolic Extract ofNauclea latifoliaRoot Bark

摘要

Root bark ofNauclea latifoliadefatted with diethylether and then extracted with ethanol had an LD50of 300 mg/kg in mice (i.p.) at 24 h. No significant effect of the extract on pentobarbitone-induced hypnosis in mice after i.p. injection was observed and challenged mice showed nervous signs prior to death. An oral administration of the ethanolic extract (100 mg/kg) significantly reduced pentobarbitone-induced sleep in rats poisoned with CCl4. The elevation of serum glutamic-oxalocetic trasaminase (SGOT), glutamic- pyruvic transaminne (SGPT), and alkaline phosphatase (SALP) induced by CCl4intoxication in rats was also significantly attenuated by the extract. The ethanolic extract, at a dose of 1 mg/ml, remarkably reduced the leakage of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in isolated rat hepatocytes and exhibited a significant action on lipid peroxidation. Other fractions attenuated the leakage of LDH, but had no significant effect on lipid peroxidation. The ethanolic extract appeared to decrease the level of parasitaemia in a dose dependent manner in mice experimentally infected withTrypanosonla brucei brucei.