A sub-acute toxicity study to assess the effects of methanol extract of date palm fruit on kidney functions in adult Wistar rats

Abstract

Background: Phoenix dactilifera (PD) has been used as a medicinal remedy for swollen limbs, aching legs, cough, sneezing, and acceleration of hair growth. Although studies have suggested the beneficial aspects of this agent to human health, it is not yet clear of the dosage that may become detrimental. Methods: Twenty adult albino rats divided into four groups of five rats each were used in this experiment. Methanol extract of PD was orally administered at doses of 4, 8, and 16 mg/kg to groups 2, 3, and 4, respectively, while group 1 (control) received distilled water. After 8 hours, blood was collected from the animals for the assessment of packed cell volume, serum urea, creatinine, glucose, potassium, chloride, and sodium. The data generated were expressed as the mean ± standard error of mean. The means were compared with Student’s t-test and analysis of variance with a p-value of 0.05 considered statistically significant. Results: In all parameters analyzed, kidney function was improved only at doses of 4 and 8 mg/kg, which was attributed to the antioxidant and free radical scavenging properties of PD. A higher dose of 16 mg/kg significantly increased the K+ (36.0 ± 4.5/22.6 ± 2.3 mEq/l) and serum urea (32.0 ± 3.8 mg/dl/25.2 ± 1.4 mg/dl) concentrations when compared with the control but other parameters measured were unchanged. These revealed that high doses of PD might impair normal renal functions. Conclusions: It was, therefore, concluded that methanol extract of PD fruit improved kidney functions at doses of 4 and 8 mg/kg and that at 16 mg/kg, PD might be deleterious to the kidney by impairing urea and potassium excretion.