Toxicological evaluation and safety of the ethanol extract from leaves of Piptadenia stipulaceae

Abstract

Piptadenia stipulacea is popularly known as “Jurema Branca” and is apply in empiric therapy as anti-inflammatory, analgesic, cells regenerator, antipyretic and astringent pectoral. The present work had as objective to carry out the toxicological analysis of the ethanol extract of the leaves of P. stipulacea. In vitro toxicity was performed according to the methodologies of osmotic fragility against sheep erythrocytes and genotoxicity by Allium cepa and in vivo toxicity according to the protocol of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD 423). Erythrocyte osmotic fragility presented low levels of hemolysis both by the qualitative evaluation of the supernatant and by the hemolytic percentage result. In cytotoxic evaluation with Allium cepa, no chromosomal abnormalities or differences in the cell division process (interphase, prophase, anaphase metaphase and telophase) were identified between the control group and the groups submitted to the different concentrations of the ethanolic extract of the leaves of P. stipulaceae (50μg/mL, 500μg/mL and 1000μg/mL). The ethanolic extract of the leaves of P. stipulaceae can be considered of low acute toxicity, since it did not cause the death of treated animals at the dose of 2000 mg/kg, as recommended by OECD 423. The results obtained allow to proceed with additional tests of sub-acute and chronic toxicity, biological activities on specific organisms in order to define the low risk of this plant.