PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING, ACUTE TOXICITY STUDY AND EVALUATION OF THE ANESTHETIC PROPERTIES OF FERMENTED Datura stramonium (THORN APPLE) SEEDS IN ALBINO WISTAR RATS

Anesthetics and sedative drugs used in operative processes and for the treatment of insomnia have become a worldwide issue due to their side effects, thus the need for a cheaper remedy with lesser side effect. The fresh and dried fermented seeds of D. stramonium have been reported in folkloric medicine to be useful in recreational purposes as sedative and sleeping agents by the indigenes of Iguobazuwa community in Ovia South East Local Government Area in Edo State, Nigeria, but have not been reported scientifically. This research aimed to study the anesthetic properties of the fresh and dried fermented seeds of D. stramonium (Thorn Apple) on albino Wistar rats using thiopental sodium-induced sedation. The phytochemical properties, evaluation of the acute toxicity effect and the potential soothing effect of the fresh and dried fermented seeds of D. stramonium using thiopental sodium-induced sedation were carried out using standard procedures. The phytochemical analysis result showed glycosides, carbohydrates, saponins, flavonoids, phenolics, eugenols, terpenes, and reducing sugar and alkaloids. The acute toxicity demonstrates that the extract's LD50 is more than 100 ml/kg. The anesthetic effect shown by the rats administered fermented seeds extract of D. stramonium at doses of 2 and 10 ml/kg followed by 60 mg/kg thiopental sodium, revealed anesthetic properties in the fermented dried and fresh seed extract dose-dependently. It is concluded that the fermented dried and fresh seed extracts of D. stramonium possess anesthetic properties which might be useful in operative situations and for managing insomnia, however clinical trials should be carried out on human subjects.