CURATIVE EFFECTS OF BAUHINIA RUFESCENS LAM LEAF EXTRACTS AGAINST ACETAMINOPHEN-INDUCED HEPATO-NEPHROTOXICITY IN RATS

Abstract

Bauhinia rufescens aerial parts have been successfully utilized in rural settings to overcome toxicity associated
ailments in animals many decades ago. Recently, overdose of acetaminophen has been reported to cause severe
hepatic and renal injuries in experimental animals and humans. This study evaluated the acute hepato-renal curative
effects of methanol (MeOH) and ethylacetate (EtoAc) extracts of B. rufescens Lam leaf against acetaminophen-
induced toxicity in rats following an experimental period of 10 days. Thirty six Wistar rats were randomly allocated
into nine groups for the study. The acetaminophen toxic groups were orally administered with 2g/kg body weight
acetaminophen for four days before the commencement of treatment on day 5 post-intoxication with either of 100
and 200mg/kg body weight of the two extracts. Hepato-renal toxicity was ascertained by evaluation of changes in
serum alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, total protein, urea, creatinine, glucose, cholesterol,
HDL-cholesterol and triglycerides. Acetaminophen-induced hepato-renal toxicity was biochemically manifested by
significant increases (p<0.05) in the levels of the above biochemical indices with the exception of total protein
which showed marked significant (p<0.05) decrease. Treatment by the two extracts significantly (p<0.05) restored
the altered biochemical indices to near normal with MeOH extract being greater compared to the EtoAc extract. The
results obtained suggested that B. rufescens leaf extract possess the ability to mitigate acute hepato-renal toxicity in
acetaminophen intoxicated rats.