@article {595, title = {Acute toxicity impacts of Euphorbia hirta L extract on behavior, organs body weight index and histopathology of organs of the mice and Artemia salina}, journal = {Pharmacognosy Research}, volume = {4}, year = {2012}, month = {July,2012}, pages = {170-177}, type = {Original Article}, chapter = {170}, abstract = {

Background: The methanol extract of Euphorbia hirta L (Euphorbiaceae), which is used in traditional medicines, was tested for in vivo toxicity. Materials and Methods: In vivo brine shrimp lethality assay and oral acute toxicity study at single high dose of 5000 mg/kg and observation for 14 days in mice were used to study the toxic effect of E. hirta. Results: Brine shrimp lethality assay was used to calculate the median lethal concentration (LC 50 ) of E. hirta (for leaves, stems, flowers and roots) methanolic extracts at concentrations from 100 to 0.07 mg/ml. The LC 50 values of 1.589, 1.420, 0.206 and 0.0827 mg/ml were obtained for stems, leaves, flowers and roots, respectively. Potassium dichromate (the positive control) had LC 50 value of 0.00758 mg/ml. The acute oral toxicity study of the leaf extract resulted in one third mortality and mild behavioral changes among the treated mice. No significant statistical differences found between body weight, relative (\%) and absolute (g) organ weights of treated and untreated groups (P\> 0.05). Gross and microscopic examination of the vital organ tissues revealed no differences between control and treated mice. All the tissues appeared normal. Conclusion\ : E. hirta leaves methanol extract has exhibited mild toxic effects in mice.

}, keywords = {Acute oral toxicity, Artemia salina, Euphorbia hirta, Methanolic extract}, doi = {10.4103/0974-8490.99085}, author = {Mohammad Abu Basma Rajeh and Yuet Ping Kwan and Zuraini Zakaria and Lachimanan Yoga Latha and Subramanion L. Jothy and Sreenivasan Sasidharan} } @article {938, title = {Amelioration of nitrobenzene-induced nephrotoxicity by the ethanol extract of the herb Euphorbia hirta}, journal = {Pharmacognosy Research}, volume = {3}, year = {2011}, month = {September 2011}, pages = {201-207}, type = {Original Article}, chapter = {201}, abstract = {

Background: Euphorbia hirta (L.) (Euphorbiaceae) is a very popular herb amongst practitioners of traditional medicine and used in the treatment of female disorders, respiratory ailments, tumors, jaundice, digestive problems, wounds, etc. We aimed to evaluate the protective effect of E. hirta against nitrobenzene-induced nephrotoxicity in albino rats. Materials and Methods: The nephroprotective activity of the ethanol extract of E. hirta (400 mg/kg body weight) was studied in nitrobenzene-induced albino rats (1000 mg/kg body weight). The activities of antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), and the levels of reduced glutathione (GSH), total thiols and vitamin C in the kidney tissues were determined. Histopathologic investigation was performed in the kidney tissue samples. Results: Nitrobenzene administration significantly (P \< 0.01) enhanced the lipid peroxidation and significantly (P \< 0.05) depleted the levels of SOD, CAT, GPx, GST, GSH, total thiols and vitamin C. Treatment with the ethanol extract of E. hirta significantly normalized the antioxidant levels. The nephroprotective activity was also supported by histopathologic studies of kidney tissue. Conclusion: The results indicate that the ethanol extract of E. hirta ameliorates renal dysfunction and could be used as an effective protector against nitrobenzene-induced nephrotoxicity, primarily through its antioxidant capacity.

}, keywords = {Antioxidant, Euphorbia hirta, Histopathology, Nephrotoxicity, nitrobenzene}, doi = {10.4103/0974-8490.85009}, author = {Subramanian Suganya and Dominic Sophia and Chinthamony Arul Raj and Muthaiyan Ahalliya Rathi and Lakshmanan Thirumoorthi and Periyasamy Meenakshi and Dugganaboyana Guru Kumar and Velliyur Kanniyapan Gopalakrishnan} }