Phytochemistry, acute toxicity and blood profile of albino rats treated with fruit extract of Solanum macrocarpon

Phytochemical screening of the methanolic fruit extract of Solanum macrocarpon was performed using standard method. Eighteen male albino mice, assigned into six groups (n=3) were used to determine the acute toxicity (LD50) of the extract. Haematological effect of the extract was determined using forty eight adult male rats assigned into four groups (A-D; n=12). The treatment groups received daily oral administration of the extract at doses of 400, 800 and 1600 mg/kg of body weight (bw) respectively for 21 days. The phytochemical screening of the extract revealed the presence of flavonoids, saponins, alkaloids, phenols, phytates, tannins, cyanides and terpenoids. The extract showed no mortality even at the dose of 5000 mg/kg bw. The highest treatment dose (1600 mg/kg) showed significant reduction in the white blood cell (WBC) count compared to rest of the treatment groups. There were no significant difference (p<0.05) in red blood cell (RBC), packed cell volume (PCV) and haemoglobin (Hb) levels of the treatment groups compared to control. Similarly, the mean cell volume (MCV), mean cell haemoglobin (MCH) and mean cell haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) results showed no significant difference from days 0 to 21 in all the treatment groups. Findings from this study suggest that except for the fact that the high dose of the extract antagonizes immunity; it has no serious adverse effect on the various haematological parameters, especially as it improves haemoglobin levels on prolonged administration. Key words: Acute toxicity, blood profile, phytochemistry, Solanum macrocarpon.