Safety evaluation of the administration of stem bark extract and fractions of Alstonia boonei in the treatment of malaria

Aim: This study was carried out to assess the safety of extract and fractions of Alstonia boonei (de wild) stem bark extract. Materials and Methods: Rats were grouped and treated with 200 and 400 mg/kg body weight (mg/kgbw) of methanol extract (ME), n-hexane, chloroform, ethylacetate, aqueous fractions (HF, CF, EF and AF respectively) of A. boonei, 5 kgbw chloroquine (CQN), 5% tween 80 (TT) and water (TW) for 7 days. Group I (treatment group) was sacrificed after 7 days while group II (recovery group) was left for 21 days to recover and thereafter sacrificed. The effects of treatment and recovery were analysed using serum biomarkers, hematological parameters and tissue histopathological evaluation. Results: There was reduction in hematological parameters after 7 days but recovered after 21 days. There was also increase in serum marker enzymes after 7 days but reduced after 21 days. Compare to TW and TT treated groups, histopathological score of liver and kidney was critical for all groups at 400 mg/kgbw after 21 days. Conclusion: The animals did not fully recover after 21 days, suggesting that 400 mg/kgbw of extract and fractions of A. boonei were both hepatotoxic and nephrotoxic.