AQUEOUS STEM

Medicinal plants contain numerous phytochemicals that have the ability to prevent, manage, and cure various diseases. Picralima nitida has been used in herbal medicine since ancient times and possesses several pharmacological properties. This study aimed to access the toxicity effect of aqueous stem bark extract of Picralima nitida using healthy normal adult male Sprague-Dawley rats, investigate its effect on glucose and insulin secretion and analyze its effect on the pancreas. We carried out both acute and subchronic toxicity study. The acute toxicity study comprised of 15 rats and was carried out in 2 phases. At the end of acute toxicity test, there were no visible signs of toxicity observed in all the animals administered the extracts. Subchronic toxicity study comprised of 30 rats and lasted for over a period of four (4) weeks. Fasting blood sugar levels were measured in groups administered with doses of 150mg/kg, 300mg/kg, 800mg/kg, 2000mg/kg and 5000mg/kg. Across all groups, there was a consistent decrease in FBS when the baseline FBS is compared to the final week FBS. This suggests that the aqueous stem bark extract of P.nitida may be a potential hypoglycemic agent, although these changes are not statistically important. Insulin levels were measured to access the extract’s impact on insulin secretion and compared to the normal control group (4.04±3.32), most doses did not significantly alter insulin secretion, except for the 150mg/kg dose which increased to about 4.30±2.26a and 5000mg/kg dose, which showed a substantial increase (27.94±23.21). However, this increase was not statistically significant (p = 0.433). The effects of the extract on the pancreatic weight showed a significant reduction across all doses compared to the normal control. Pancreatic weight decreased significantly at all administered doses (150mg/kg to 5000mg/kg) with p = 0.000, indicating a high level of statistical significance. The histology of the pancreas showed that there was no inflammation also the extract at 150mg/kg and 2000mg/kg dose increased Islets of Langerhans markedly. At 300mg/kg and 5000mg/kg there was no increase in Islets of Langerhans.