Evaluation of acute toxicity of the methanolic extract of Tanacetum parthenium L. in albino wistar rats

Abstract

Tanacetum parthenium L. commonly known as feverfew and it is belongs to the family Asteraceae. Toxicologymaybedefined asthe study ofharmful,poisonousandadverseeffectsofdrugsandotherchemicals constituentsfoundinplants,whichmayincreasethechancesofmortalityorweaknessinthegeneralhealth, physically as well as mentally. The present study has been undertaken to study the adverse or hazardous effects of methanolic extract of T. parthenium and to establish the safety of methanolic extract of T. parthenium in albino wistar rats (180-200g) as per OrganizationforEconomic CooperationandDevelopment(OECD) guidelines. In acute toxicity study, the oral dose (1000, 2000, 3000 and 4000 mg/kg) of tested plant extract was administered to four groups of animals (GROUP I, II, III and IV)in single dose and for seven days their general behavior, adverse effects and mortality were monitored. In acute toxicity, all treated groups revealed neither mortality nor any significant changes were observed. The result indicates that the oral administration of methanolic extract of T. parthenium plant did not produce any significant toxic effect in albino rats. Hence, the extract can be utilized safely for therapeutic use in pharmaceutical formulations.