ACUTE AND SUBACUTE TOXICITY STUDIES OF BUKUMOL® POLYHERBAL FORMULATION BY ORAL ADMINISTRATION IN RODENTS; ASSESSMENT OF LIVER AND KIDNEY FUNTIONS

The potential toxicity of Bukumol® Polyherbal Formulation (PHF) in Wistar rats was assessed through the Acute and Subacute Toxicity Tests. The rats were sacrificed, haematological parameters, plasma biochemical parameters and histopathological examination were carried out. Acute toxicity study showed that the oral LD50 value of the PHF was greater than 5000 mg/kg. The subacute toxicity study of the PHF at doses 1000, 1500 and 2000mg/kg did not produce any observable symptoms of toxicity and no significant variation in body weight, food, and water consumption or mortality in all treated rats. However, the administration of the PHF to rats at 2000mg/kg showed a significant decrease in Mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC). The result showed that subacute treatments with the PHF at dose 1500 mg/kg and 2000mg/kg significantly elevated Total protein (T.P) and Glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT) respectively. Histological studies showed that at the dose of 2000 mg/kg, there were histopathological changes in the liver and kidney.