Acute and sub-acute toxicity of Terminalia fagifolia Mart. & Zucc. (Combretaceae) in rodents

Terminalia fagifolia Mart & Zucc is a typical plant from Brazilian savanna, whose stem bark is used in popular medicine for relief of gastrointestinal discomfort. A phytochemical study showed the presence of large amounts of antioxidants (flavonoids and triterpenes). In acute toxicity tests, five groups of female mice were orally treated with stem bark extract from T. fagifolia or fractions by gavage at doses 2 g/kg/day (n = 5) and general behavior, adverse effects and mortality were recorded for up to 14 days. In sub-acute toxicity assays, animals received T. fagifolia ethanol extract or fractions at doses of 80, 240 or 720 mg/kg/day (n = 6) for 30 days and biochemical and morphological parameters were determined. The acute treatment in mice produced 40% of death. The estimate for the median lethal oral dose was 2 g/kg (LD50 <5 g/kg). Sub-acute treatment with T. fagifolia failed to change body weight gain, food and water consumption and biochemical profiles or reproductive parameters in female Wistar rats. In addition, no changes in macroscopical and microscopical aspect of organs were observed. Our results showed that acute or sub-acute administration of T. fagifolia has no significant toxicity, suggesting that it is safe for use as herbal medicine. Key words: Toxicity, herbal medicine, reproductive toxicity, rodents.