Chemical Composition and In vivo Oral Toxicity of Essential Oil from Ocimum gratissimum (Scent Leaf) found in Nigeria
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: In recent decades, there has been a significant increase in the interest of plant essential oil which constitute an important source of biological active compounds.Essential oils of Ocimum gratissimum species possess medicinal potentials that are used in food industry and medicinal plant as a result of its anti-inflammatory analgesic, hepatoprotective, anti-mutagenic, antihypertensive activities and insect repellant.However, little research has been done on its in vivo oral toxicity effect.The present study aimed at evaluating the chemical composition and in vivo oral toxicity of essential oil from Ocimum gratissimum (scent leaf) found in Nigeria.Fresh leaves of Ocimum gratissimum was chopped into small pieces.300g of the chopped leaves was mixed with 1000ml of water and the mixture was then boiled in a round-bottom flask subjected to hydro distillation using a Clevenger-type apparatus for 6 hours.GC-MS was carried out in order to identify the bioactive compounds in the extract.Thirty-two (32) male Wistar strain albino rats weighing 120-150g were obtained from the Animal House, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Nigeria and kept in well-ventilated standard plastic cages with eight animals per cage.The rats were acclimatized for 1 week and maintained on oral standard rats' pellets and water ad libitum.The experimental animals were randomly divided into four groups of eight animals per group, for a total experimental period of 8 weeks as presented below.After acclimatization, administrations were done orally with 24 hours interval.Three animals from each group were sacrificed by cervical dislocation and the blood was collected for biochemistry and hematology analysis.They were dissected in order to excise the liver, lungs, spleen, brain and kidney for histopathological studies.Statistical analysis was carried out using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Dunnet's Multiple comparison test at P < 0.05 level of significance.The results obtained from this study revealed that most of the compounds detected are fatty acid esters.Bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate was observed to have the highest retention time recorded as 24.029 with a percentage proportion of 0.33%.Carvacrol recorded the lowest retention time (7.625) with a percentage proportion of 3.16.There was no significant difference observed in the body weight of rats between control group and any of treated groups (2-4) at any period of time.After 60 days of treatment, there was significant increase in the concentration of AST (UI/L) and Tot.Protein (g/L) across all treated groups compared to the control group.A decrease was also observed in the concentration of K+ (mmol/L), HCO3 (mmol/L), Ca+ (mmol/L), Creatinine (µmol/L), Total Cholesterol (mmol/L), Triglyceride (mmol/L), LDL (mg/dL), Tot.Bilirubin (µmol/L), Dir.Bilirubin (µmol/L), and ALT (UI/L) across all treated groups compared to the control.There were no signs of apoptosis or neurodegeneration in the brains of experimental rats.The results of this study revealed that O. gratissimum essential oil maybe toxic when given at high doses for a longer period of time which could be responsible for the clinical manifestations and the pathological changes observed in the organs and tissues of the treated rats.
Author: Moses Adondua A
Institution: Federal University Wukari
Language: English
Subfield: Plant Science
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4410824264