Evaluation of Biochemical and Histological Effects on Liver of Swiss Albino Mice Due to Acute Oral Toxicity of Aqueous Leaf Extract of Phyllanthus niruri

In modern era, plant extracts are being used extensively as a source of medicinal agents. However, there is limited data available about the toxicity of herbal products used in remedies, are essential for the study of toxicity profile of medicinal plants. Therefore, aim of this study was to observe the biochemical and histopathological changes in liver due to acute oral toxicity of aqueous leaf extract of P.niruri(L.) Mice were divided into six experimental groups of 6 mice each comprises Group-I as (control) and treatment groups were administered aqueous leaf extract of P.niruri orally at different doses of 500 mg/Kg bw (Group-II), 1000 mg/Kg bw (Group-III), 2000mg/Kg bw (Group-IV), 2500 mg/Kg bw (Group-V) and 3000 mg/Kg bw (Group-VI) for 7 consecutive days. The experimental mice were sacrificed and serum was collected for the analysis of serum ALP (alkaline phosphatase), SGPT (serum glutamic pyruvic transferase), total protein, albumin and total bilirubin. The liver was dissected, weighed and processed for histological analysis. Serum level of SGPT, total protein and albumin showed significant (P≤ 0.05) increase in the treated Group-V and Group-VI as compared to control. Serum ALP levels showed significant decrease (P≤ 0.05) in Group-V and Group-VI. Alterations in hepatocytes were observed only at higher doses of Group-V and Group-VI. The median acute toxicity (LD50) of the compound was determined to be 2590.984 mg/Kg bw.