Acute and Subchronic Toxicity Study of the Ethanol Extracts from Ficus deltoidea Leaves in Male Mice

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Ficus deltoidea Jack. leaves have a great potential as traditional medicine, but the safety level of its use is still unknown.
 AIM: This study aimed to determine the phytochemical contents of the ethanol extract of F. deltoidea leaves and evaluate the level of safety and toxicity through acute and subchronic toxicity tests in mice (Mus musculus).
 METHODS: The ethanol extract of F. deltoidea leaves was determined for phytochemical contents such as alkaloids, phenolics, flavonoids, coumarin, steroids, saponins, carotenoids, and tannins. In the acute toxicity test, 10 male mice were divided into a control group and the extract treatment group with 2000 mg/kg body weight (BW) dose for 14 days to identify signs of toxicity and mortality. Meanwhile, in the subchronic toxicity test, 25 male mice were divided into control and four treatment groups with various doses (125, 250, 500, and 1000 mg/kg BW), respectively, for 28 days. The toxicological effect was evaluated by observing behavior, signs of toxicity, and changes in BW. At the end of the treatment, hematological and biochemical evaluations were also measured.
 RESULTS: The results showed that the ethanol extract of F. deltoidea Jack leaves qualitatively contains alkaloids, phenolic, flavonoids, coumarin, and steroids, whereas quantitatively total phenolics, flavonoids, and IC50 were 107.6583211 μg GA/mg, 175.9103641 μg CE/mg, and 103.7484 μg/mL. Moreover, 2000 mg/kg BW dose resulted in no symptoms of toxicity and mortality, indicating that the 50% lethal dose (LD50) was above 2000 mg/kg BW. Meanwhile, there were no behavioral changes, significant differences in weight changes, hematological parameters, and serum biochemistry of mice in subchronic toxicity tests.
 CONCLUSION: The present study shows that acute and subchronic oral administration of the ethanol extract of F. deltoidea leaves for male mice does not induce clinical symptoms of toxicity or mortality. The LD50 of the ethanol extract of F. deltoidea leaves for mice >2000 mg/kg is considered as practically non-toxic.

Ficus deltoidea promotes bone formation in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

“… 2013 ) and 2000 mg/kg body weight (Nugroho et al. 2020 ), respectively. These observations suggest that F. deltoidea extract can be considered safe and non-toxic for therapeutic use.…”

Effects of the Ethanol Extracts of Ficus deltoidea leaves on the Reproductive Parameters in Male Mice

“…Acute and subchronic administration of F. deltoidea extract to male mice did not show clinical signs of toxicity [9]. Subchronic effects of the administration of ethanolic extract of F. deltoidea leaves for 28 days on body weight, absolute organ weight (g), and relative organ weight (%) to body weight of male mice are presented in Table 1.…”

“…Although F. deltoidea has displayed various pharmacological properties, safety information on this plant is still limited. Acute and subchronic toxicity studies of the ethanolic extract of F. deltoidea leaves showed no signs of toxicity in male mice (Mus musculus) after oral treatment with a single 2000 mg/kg body weight dose, while in the subchronic toxicity test, there were no behavioral change and no significant changes in body weight or in the hematological and biochemical parameters of serum [9].…”

“…In addition, its flavonoids and anethole are estrogenic compounds [14] that can suppress serum testosterone levels and reduce sperm production. In the phytochemical test, it was found that the ethanol extract of Ficus deltoidea Jack leaves contained alkaloids, phenolics, flavonoids, coumarins, and steroids [9]. According to a previous study, plant extracts and secondary metabolites exhibit a variety of biological properties, including antihypertensive, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, anti-tumor, antioxidant, anti-diarrheal, antispermatogenic, and spermatogenic activities, and can increase or decrease serum testosterone levels [15].…”

Infrared spectral markers for the nephroprotective effects ofFicus deltoideain streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

“…It is also served as a health tonic or taken as herbal tea to relieve headache, fever, and toothache [29]. Acute toxicity studies showed that the median lethal dose (LD50) of aqueous and ethanolic leaf extracts of F. deltoidea was greater than 5000 mg/kg bwt [30] and 2000 mg/kg bwt [31], respectively. Meanwhile, Abrahim et al [32] showed that F. deltoidea leaves did not exhibit any cytotoxic effects on the normal liver cells.…”