Evaluation of Acute and Subchronic Toxicity Induced by the Crude Ethanol Extract of Plukenetia volubilis Linneo Leaves in Swiss Albino Mice

Plukenetia volubilis Linneo (P. volubilis), or Sacha inca, is an oleaginous plant from the Euphorbiaceae family. The presence of terpenoids, saponins, tannins, glycosides, phytosterols, and phenolic compounds in the ethanol extracts of P. volubilis L leaves has been reported, showing a range of bioactivities including antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and analgesia. However, the safety of this plant has not yet been reported explicitly. This study thus is aimed at evaluating the toxicity of the ethanol extract of P. volubilis leaves (EtPV) by acute and subchronic toxicity tests in Swiss albino mice following standard procedures set by The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) with slight modifications. In the acute toxicity test, the treatment groups were administered orally with the EtPV at doses of 1000, 3000, 5000, and 7000 mg/kg body weight in small fractions during 16 hours, and the mice were then observed in 14 consecutive days. In the subchronic toxicity study, the EtPV was given at doses of 100, 300, 500, and 700 mg/kg body weight for 90 days. Changes in behavior, mortality rate, and body and the weights of vital organs, hematology, clinical biochemistry, urine analysis, and histologic morphology were evaluated. The acute toxicity study showed that the EtPV causes no sign of toxicity or mortality. The hematological, biochemical and urine analyses, changes in the weight of the body and vital organs (heart, liver and kidney), and histopathological analyses of organs indicated no evidence of toxicity at any doses. It was also revealed that oral administration of EtPV is safe at the oral doses set by acute and subchronic toxicity tests, and the oral lethal dose for the EtPV is higher than 7000 mg/kg. This study is the first to confirm the safety of P. volubilis leaf ethanol extract, and as a result, encouraging further investigation to examine EtPV potential for traditional medicine.