Evaluation of Analgesic Activity, Elemental Composition and Toxicological Profile of Aristolochia albida Root Extracts in Wistar Rats

Abstract

Background: A. albida root extracts are used by a majority of the communities in North Central Nigeria to manage stomach ailments and pain, as well as snakebites. However, scientific data on its safety and efficacy are limited. Objectives: This study aims to investigate the analgesic activity, elemental composition and toxicological profile of A. albida root extracts in Wistar rats. Materials and Methods: Ethyl acetate and ethanol root extracts were prepared by cold maceration. The method described by Zeghad et al., (2020) was adopted for the acetic acid induced writhing test model used to evaluate the analgesic activity of the extracts. Each extract’s safety was evaluated using Wistar rats according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (2008) guidelines. Elemental analysis was carried out for the presence of any heavy metal such as copper, iron, manganese, chromium, zinc, arsenic, lead, and magnesium using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer model AAS 6800, Shimadzu.   Results: In this study, the acetic acid induced writhing test model used to evaluate the analgesic activity of n-hexane, ethyl acetate, ethanol and water extracts of A. albida root revealed that all of the solvent extracts of the plant showed some analgesic activity at three different doses of 250 mg/kg bw, 500 mg/kg bw and 1,000 mg/kg bw when compared to rats that received pentazocine 20 mg/kg bw (reference drug). In this study, the inhibition of the nociception induced by acetic acid was observed to be dose-dependent. Elemental profiling revealed that all the eight elements sought for in the root of A. albida were present. The result showed that Mg was present in highest amount (21.1303 mg/kg) while, Cu, Zn, Fe, Mn, Pb, As and Cr were present in small amounts. Hepatic function and renal function tests performed in order to ascertain the level of toxicity or otherwise of the ethanol root extract of A. albida revealed that total protein value decreased in a dose-dependent manner when compared to the serum level of total protein in the control group. Serum levels of alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) at 250, 500 and 1,000 mg/kg/bw were only marginally higher when compared to the control. However, significant changes were observed in other liver function markers such as total protein and alkaline phosphatase. This calls for caution when administering A. albida as prolonged use could be injurious to both the liver and the kidney.