Toxicological evaluation of Rubia cordifolia root extract on brain and spleen of rat model

Abstract

Rubia cordifolia, commonly known as Manjistha, is one of the plants which has great significance in traditional medicine systems for its wide use in therapeutic field. However, less studies have been conducted with its toxicity tests. Therefore, we conducted this study with a view to evaluating its toxicity. This evaluation was done by a histopathological study on rat model which involved a control group that was administered with distilled water, a treated group L that was administered with low dose (150 mg/kg) of root extract and a treated group H that was administered with high dose (1500 mg/kg) of the root extract having 6 rats in each group. After 28 days’ treatment, no noticeable changes were found in the specimens of either of the organs. However, in the specimen of spleen treated with high dose of Manjistha root extract, a mildly increased megakaryocytes and increased deposition of hemosiderin pigments had been observed. More research in this field needs to be conducted to confirm its toxicity.