Safety Evaluation of Methanolic Extract of Fenugreek Seeds on Hepatic, Renal and Cardiac Parameters: An Animal Experiment

Introduction: Fenugreek is one of the plants with great therapeutic significance. It contains numerous bioactive compounds. Knowing the safety of crude extracts on various body organs is a must. Aims & Objectives: To assess the safety of methanol extract (MEFS) of fenugreek seeds on various hepatic, renal and cardiac parameters. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in the department of Pharmacology, University of Karachi for a period of 2 months from 1-2-2023 till 30-3-2023. Materials & Methods: Safety evaluation of MEFS was conducted on 28 white rabbits of both genders weighing 1-1.5 kg after getting ethical approval. Animals were apportioned into 4 groups by simple random sampling. Each group consisted of 7 animals. Group I was categorized as control and given distilled water 1m1/kg per oral route O.D. Remaining 3 groups were test groups. They were fed with fenugreek extract using 3 different doses (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg body weight) in the same amount given to Group I per oral route O.D for 45 days. Blood sample from marginal vein of ears of rabbits were taken on 46th day and tested on Humalyzer using standard reagents. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 24, via one- way ANOVA and post hoc tukeys HSD test. Results: After 45 days of feeding the extract, insignificant decrease in aspartate transaminase (80.12±14.5), alanine transaminase (67.32±15.5), ?GT (8.46±0.14), total bilirubin (0.82±0.11), direct bilirubin (0.14±0.02), total protein (07.21± 1.11), urea (37.23±0.54), creatinine (0.78±0.15), lactate dehydrogenase (356.23±16.11),creatinine phosphokinase (404.33± 76.45) and blood electrolytes (Na 2.76± 0.21, K 3.55±0.43 and Ca 3.81±0.26 ) was observed in all test groups when compared to control group. Conclusion: The study indicates higher safety of fenugreek seeds extract on liver, kidney and heart as observed from effects on various hepatic, renal and cardiac parameters. Isolation of active compounds and testing on large sample size are suggested for future studies.