Toxicological evaluation and protective effect of ethanolic leaf extract of Launaea taraxacifolia on gentamicin induced rat kidney injury

Objective: To evaluate the toxic potential of Launaea taraxacifolia leaf extract (LTE) in rats within 14 d of oral administration and also assess the potential of LTE in protecting against kidney injury induced by gentamicin using rat model. Methods: The protective ability of LTE was done after sub-acute toxicity evaluation has been carried out. Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) was induced by gentamicin at a dose of 160 mg/kg intraperitoneal i.p. Parameters and indicators considered include mortality, clinical signs, body and organ weights, haematological and clinical chemistry parameters. Gross examination and histopathological assessment was also done on selected internal organs. Results: There were no treatment-related deaths or changes in clinical signs, haemato-logical and clinical chemistry indices during sub-acute toxicity studies with the exception of creatinine levels. This was confirmed by micrographs obtained from histopathological analysis. Co-administration of LTE with 160 mg/kg of gentamicin (i.p) markedly decreased the levels of urea and creatinine when compared to negative control group. Histological studies of kidney tissues showed an insignificant change in tubular epithe-lium in LTE plus gentamicin treated group compared to LTE treated only. Conclusions: Data obtained show that ethanolic leaf extract of Launaea taraxacifolia is non-toxic within a 14 d administration at a maximum dose of 1000 mg/kg bwt and also possesses the ability to protect against gentamicin-induced kidney damage in rats at a dose of 300 mg/kg bwt.