TITLE:
Evaluation of the Safety and Efficacy of Extracts from the Leaves of Five Plants Used for the Treatment of Arterial Hypertension in Benin
AUTHORS:
Omédine Koukoui, Santorin Seton, Mansouratou Betira, Jean Baptiste Amagbegnon, Fidèle Sonounameto, Eudoxie Assou, Alphonse Sezan
KEYWORDS:
Hypertension, Plant Extracts, Toxicity, Efficacy, Potassium
JOURNAL NAME:
Pharmacology & Pharmacy,
Vol.13 No.10,
October
10,
2022
ABSTRACT: Cardiovascular
diseases (CVD) are nowadays real health problems in the world. High blood
pressure is one of the most important risk factors for CVD and is affecting
more and more people in Benin. The objective of our work is to evaluate the
safety and the efficacy of the leaves of five plants used for the treatment of
hypertension in Benin. Acute toxicity was evaluated on wistar rats which orally
administered a single dose of 2000 mg/kg of body weight of hydro-ethanolic
extract of the leaves of Phyllanthus amarus Schumach. & Thonn., Persea americana MILL., Ipomoaea fistulosa Mart. ex
Choisy., Heliotropium indicum L., Schrankia leptocarpa DC., and were
monitored over a period of 14 days. Subacute toxicity was evaluated on rats
which received a daily dose of 200 mg/kg
of body weight of the plant leaf extract over a period of 28 days. Plant
efficacy was assessed by measuring potassium in plant leaves. Administration of
the single dose of the extract did not cause any deaths in rats; the weight of
the rats varied depending on the extracts administered. Concerning the subacute
treatment, the levels of aspartate amino transaminases (AST) and Alanine amino
transaminases (AST) did not vary significantly after the 28 days of treatment
with the different extracts. On the other hand, a significant increase in serum
creatinine was observed in rats treated with extracts of Phyllanthus amarus. The leaves of Heliotropium indicum, Ipomoaea fistulosa and Phyllanthus
amarus contain the highest levels of potassium. Among the five plants
studied, only the leaves of Phyllanthus
amarus seem to induce renal toxicity. Extracts from the leaves of Heliotropium indicum, Ipomoaea fistulosa might be the most
effective in inducing hypotensive activity and do not show toxicity.