Phytochemicals, Acute Toxicity and Genotoxicity of Chewing of Chewing Sticks from Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides Root and Distemonanthus benthamianus Stem
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2022-05-05
Authors
Alaribe, S.C.
Oladipupo, A.R.
Adebesin, A.
Kaska, O.
Emuejevoke, T.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Bulletin of Faculty of Pharmacy Cairo University, (B-FOPCU)
Abstract
Dental caries has been reported to touch almost half of the world's population, making it one of the most prevalent
disease conditions in the world. Studies have shown that chewing sticks could be useful in cleaning of teeth and could
offer protection against dental conditions, including caries. Given the increasing usage of chewing sticks and their
unstandardized nature, in this study we investigated the acute toxicity, genotoxic effects on liver and kidney, and
phytochemical constituents of chewing sticks from Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides root and Distemonanthus benthamianus
stem, widely used in West Africa. Chemical tests showed the presence of saponins, alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins,
terpenoids, steroids, and reducing sugars in ethanol extract of Z. zanthoxyloides root, while saponins, alkaloids, glycosides, and reducing sugars were detected in ethanol extract of D. benthamianus stem. The presence of these bioactive
phytochemicals is indicative of the antimicrobial potentials of these plants and could support their usefulness as
chewing sticks. Acute toxicity study revealed that the LD50 values of ethanol extracts of D. benthamianus stem and Z.
zanthoxyloides root are greater than 2300 and 5000 mg/kg body weight, respectively. Genotoxicity assessment further
revealed that D. benthamianus stem and Z. zanthoxyloides root ethanol extracts could induce genotoxic effect on liver
and kidney at doses up to 2300 and 5000 mg/kg body weight, respectively. These findings indicate that despite the
biochemical properties and medicinal importance of Z. zanthoxyloides root and D. benthamianus stem, their usage
should be done with caution.
Description
Scholarly article
Keywords
Chewing stick , Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides , Distemonanthus benthamianus , Phytochemicals , Acute toxicity , Research Subject Categories::PHARMACY
Citation
Alaribe, Chinwe S.; Oladipupo, Akolade R.; Adebesin, Anjola T.; Kaska, Omolayomi; and Toye, Emuejevoke T. (2022) "Phytochemicals, Acute Toxicity and Genotoxicity of Chewing Sticks from Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides Root and Distemonanthus benthamianus Stem," Bulletin of Faculty of Pharmacy Cairo University: Vol. 60 : Iss. 1 , Article 1. Available at: https://doi.org/10.54634/2090-9101.1027