Toxicity of Mucuna Pruriens Seed Extract on the Kidney of Adult Sprague-dawley Rats

Abstract

Background: The commonly acceptable knowledge that herbal medications have little or no toxicity and are absolutely safe makes people consume them indiscriminately. All parts of Mucuna pruriens have been reported to possess valuable medicinal properties, but its potential toxicity on vital organs remains unexplored.

Objective: To determine the deleterious effect of Mucuna pruriens on the Kidney of Adult Sprague-Dawley Rats.

Methodology: Twenty Sprague-Dawley rats were used and divided into four groups of five rats per group. Group I served as control and received distilled water and groups II-IV received 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg of the extract respectively for 2 weeks. The animals were sacrificed, blood was collected for kidney function test and the kidneys were excised via ventral laparatomy. The right kidney was fixed for histological studies while the left kidney was analysed for biochemical markers of oxidative stress

Results: Lipid peroxidation increased significantly while superoxide dismutase and glutathione recorded a significant decrease in activities when the treated groups were compared to control. Creatinine decreased significantly and urea increased significantly when treated groups were compared to control. Histological sections showed degenerative changes and tubular necrosis in the kidney at higher doses.

Conclusion: Mucuna pruriens causes degenerative changes in glomerular epithelia and reduced urea clearance possibly by an oxidative stress mechanism.