Acute Oral Toxicity, Dermal Irritation and Eye Irritation Study of Eclipta Alba Aqueous Extract in Sprague Dawley Rats and Newzealand White Rabbits

Abstract

Eclipta alba is used as a medicinal herb in many herbal preparations including most of hair oils produced in India. The E. alba extracts are part of many Ayurvedic/herbal medicines with hepatoprotective, anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties. Aqueous extract, hydroalcoholic extracts and methanolic extract are reported to possess hepatoprotective, anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties. Studies in Burkina Faso have demonstrated that soaking seeds with 2.5% E. alba aqueous extract for 6 h improved seed quality parameters followed by increased yield in sorghum. Accordingly, it has been proposed to use E. alba for seed treatment on a larger scale. Hence it was relevant to test the toxicity of E. alba. The purpose of this study was to test the acute oral toxicity, dermal irritation and eye irritation of aqueous extract of E. alba dried leaves in Sprague Dawley rats and New Zealand white rabbits. The acute toxicity studies were carried out based on OECD guidelines 423. The highest dose administered at 2000 mg/kg body weight did not produce mortality or changes in general behaviour of the test animals indicating safety of the oral administration of aqueous E. alba extract in Sprague Dawley rats. The acute dermal irritation study in Newzealand white rabbits was investigated according to OECD test guideline No. 404. The E. alba fine powder applied to the intact left flank of female rabbit did not elicit any skin reactions at the application site of animal at any of the observation time points and hence 'Non Irritant' to the rabbit skin. The acute eye irritation study on Newzealand white rabbits did not cause corneal opacity, iris and conjunctivae in any of the treated animals and did not cause staining of the treated eye and is termed as 'not irritating' to the rabbit eyes / eye mucosa. The toxicological studies prove that the E. alba aqueous extract are safe to be used as seed treatment and can be handled safely by humans under field conditions.

Phytochemical screening, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancerous activities of ethanol and hexane extracts of Urochloa ramosa

“…The use of synthetic chemical compounds has led to decline in the use of plants in contemporary medicine over years (29). Botanicals are considered as best source of medicine, as they are eco-friendly, more affordable than conventional medicine, easier to obtain than prescribed medicine, strength in immune system, fewer side effects and cost effective (30).…”

Antifungal Activity of Eclipta alba Metabolites against Sorghum Pathogens

“…Formulation of Datura metel extract along with Pseudomonas fluorescens and Bacillus subtilis reduced Fusarium wilt disease incidence caused by Fusarium oxysporum under greenhouse and field conditions with an increased yield of banana [26]. Additionally, E. alba extract proved to be non-toxic towards Sprague Dawley rats and New Zealand white rabbits in oral administration, acute dermal irritation, and eye irritation studies in vitro [4]. Formulations from the study induced significant protection against grain mold diseases.…”

“…The pharmacological and antimicrobial importance of aqueous and solvent extracts of Eclipta alba has been reviewed extensively [2,3]. The safety of E. alba extract was confirmed by preclinical toxicology studies using acute oral toxicity, eye irritation tests, and dermal irritation on New Zealand white rabbits and Sprague dawley rats [4].…”

Seed-priming of sorghum with antifungal extracts from Balanites aegyptiaca and Eclipta alba in different agro-ecological zones of Burkina Faso

“…It is further encouraging that both plant species are commonly found in the regions where their activity appears to be optimal, respectively (E. alba in South-East; B. aegyptiaca in the North). E. alba is already well known to farmers due to its medicinal characteristics and no acute toxicity of an extract from E. alba leaves was found in a recent study (Udayashankar et al, 2016). With regard to the E. alba extract implementation in the South-Eastern zone therefore appears to be straight forward.…”