Study of the toxicity of ethanolic extract of Schrankia leptocarpa D.C in the treatment of dental caries in Côte d’Ivoire

Abstract

Schrankia leptocarpa (S. leptocarpa) is a plant found in the Mimosaceae family. It is used in the treatment of dental caries in Côte d’Ivoire. Because of the direct contact of the decoction with the cells of the mouth and the risk of swallowing it, we have been interested in the study of the toxicity of S. leptocarpa. The aim of our study was to assess the risks linked to the toxicity of plant during the traditional treatments. To achieve this goal, cytotoxicity and acute oral toxicity tests of the ethanolic extract of S. leptocarpa (P) were carried out at different concentrations on Vero E6 cells from the black monkey kidneys of West Africa and on Swiss mice. This study showed a cytotoxic effect of extract P on Vero E6 cells for all the concentrations ranged from 10 to 2.5 μg/mL from the second day. This extract has been found to be no-toxic with an LD50 greater than 5000 mg/kg. At the end of this study, it was shown that S. leptocarpa could be used in the treatment of dental caries without any fear of toxicity.