Evaluation of the biological safety of the extract of Senegalia bahiensis (Benth.) Seigler & Ebinger

Abstract

The use of medicinal plants is recurrent for the treatment of various diseases, however, despite being a natural resource, they can cause adverse effects, depending on the way they are administered. Senegalia bahiensis is an angiosperm belonging to the Fabaceae family, with no records in the literature about its cytotoxic potential. The objective of this study was to evaluate the biological safety of S. bahiensis extract through cytotoxicity assays: hemolytic activity and osmotic fragility. At a concentration of 1000 ug/mL, the extract showed a high hemolytic rate for types A and O erythrocytes. The hemolytic activity was low at other concentrations, while the extract's concentrations of 10 and 100 ug/mL used for the anti-hemolytic assay did not protect erythrocytes against osmotic lysis. The results demonstrated that S. bahiensis extract is not safe at the highest concentrations tested in vitro, moreover, it did not show a cytoprotective effect. Therefore, further investigation regarding the cytotoxicity of this specimen is necessary, and its use must be cautious.