The Toxic Effect Of Six Commonly Occurring Plants In .Nigerian Pastures

ABSTRACT

The toxicology of six suspected poisonous plants Leucaena

leucocephala Benth, Tribulus terrestris Linn Eugenia uniflora Linn,

Dichapetalum madagascasience Poir, Lantana camara Linn, and Solanum

torvum Benth); were evaluated in Sprague Dawley rats weighing

between 200-300 grams. Two of these plants, Lantana camara and ~.

madagascasience were re-evaluated in West African dwarf goats.

Spectrophotometric and titrimetric methods were also used to

determine some inorganic and metallic contents of the plant.

The extracts of all the poisonous plants except ~. torvum and

~. madagascasiense produced dose dependent effects on rat serum

proteins. The extracts of these plants which produced

statistically significant changes (P( 0.05) in serum proteins of

the rat include the 400 and 600mg/kg doses of the extrct of 1..

leucocephala; 400 mg/kg dose level for extract of T. terrestris;

200 mg/kg dose level, for the extract of E. uniflora; 400 and 600

mg/kg dose levels extract of L. camara. The gl&bulin fraction did

not show any significant changes in all the rats treated with the

poisonous plants. No changes were also observed in the serum

dectrolytes analYsed.

I.terrestris, 1.. Camara and E. uniflora produced dose related

increases in activities of serum enzymes, alanine aminotransferase

ALT (EC 2:6.1.2), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (EC.2.6.1.1.),

- .and.La Lka.Ldne.. .pho s.phat-as e (ALP) (EC. 3.1.-3.1. ) . All the plants

produced significant increases in ALT except L. Leucocepha!a and ~

torvum whereas E. uniflora, L. camara, and D. madagascasie use

produced significant changes in AST (P