| Summary: | Momordica charantia
is commonly known as bitter
gourd, balsam pear or karela is a multi-purpose herb. It is
cultivated from different parts of the world and is usually used
in traditional medicine. This study was conducted to investigate
the acute oral toxicity effects of
Momordica charantia
in
Sprague Dawley rats based on OECD Guidelines 423. The
extract was administered orally at two different doses of 300
mg/kg and 2000 mg/kg of body weight. The toxicity signs were
recorded within the first 24 hours after forced feeding. Both of
the treated groups showed dizziness and depression during the
first 30 minutes. However, no significant difference of feeding
patterns which included water, food intake and body weight
gain were observed. Haematological evaluations did not show
significant differences in white blood cells count (WBC), mean
corpuscular volume (MCV) and mean corpuscular
haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) levels. However, red blood
cells count (RBC) and packed cell volume (PCV) percentage
was significantly lower in rats that received 2000 mg/kg than
those of the other two groups. Meanwhile, haemoglobin (Hb)
count and the relative liver weight of rats received 2000 mg/kg
body weight of extract decreased significantly (p<0.05) as
compared with the control group. Thus, this study is expected to
be beneficial for clinical and traditional applications for safe
consumption and to utilize
Momordica charantia
as a remedy at
a recommended dosage.
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