July-August 2017 Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences 521 Research Paper Bryophyllum pinnatum (Lam.), syn. Kalanchoe pinnata (Lam.), and B. calycinum (Salisb.) is a widely distributed perennial medicinal herb. It is native to Madagascar, but has been naturalized in several other regions, including the temperate regions of Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. B. pinnatum is known by some common names including, life plant, air plant, maternity plant, love plant, miracle leaf, cathedral bells, mother of thousands, leaf of resurrection plant, and Lao di Sheng gen. The plant is locally called “Never Die” in Nigeria, and is very popular in folklore medicine. It has been used for the treatment of a variety of conditions in tropical America, India, China, Australia and Africa, including, rheumatism, body pain, arthritis, heartburn, skin ulcers, peptic ulcer, diabetes mellitus, microbial infections, and hypertension [1-6] . In Nigeria, the plant is particularly known for its effective wound healing properties and detachment of the umbilicus of infants. Pharmacological studies on B. pinnatum reported several biological activities some of which could authenticate the plant’s traditional uses including, immunomodulatory [7] , CNS depressant [8] , analgesic, antiinfammatory [9] , antimicrobial [10,11] , antitumor [12] , antiulcer [13] , insecticidal [14] , antidiabetic [15] , anticonvulsant [16] , antioxidant [17] , and antihypertensive properties [18] . Studies have also reported a wide range of active phytochemicals such as alkaloids, triterpenes, glycosides [18] , favonoids [16,19] , steroids [9] , bufadienolides [20] , lipids and organic acids [21] . These compounds have been considered to be responsible for the plant’s diverse pharmacological activities. Although, folklore claims of many herbal remedies are yet to be authenticated scientifcally, B. pinnatum has been reasonably studied with justifcation of most of the claims. This has enhanced the promotion of the use of B. pinnatum and other plants either as alternatives or to complement orthodox medicines. Additionally, Effects of Aqueous Bryophyllum pinnatum Leaf Extract on Haematological, Renal and Sperm Indices in Wistar Rats J. S. APRIOKU* AND I. IGBE 1 Department of Experimental Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Port Harcourt, PMB 5323, East-West Road, Choba, Rivers State, 1 Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria Aprioku and Ighodaro: Toxicity Profle of Bryophyllum pinnatum Leaf Extract Bryophyllum pinnatum is a perennial herb, widely used in the treatment of several conditions in folklore medicine. The effects of sub-acute treatment of the aqueous extract of B. pinnatum leaf on haematological, renal and testicular functions were investigated in the Wistar rat. Adult rats were randomly distributed into three groups of six rats each and administered 0, 62.5 or 125 mg/kg of extract daily for 28 days by oral gavage. Blood levels of urea, creatinine and haematological parameters, as well as epididymal sperm parameters were measured. Kidney and testis of animals were removed and organ weight to body weight ratios were determined. Histology of the organs was also analysed. The extract elevated white blood cell count, reduced neutrophil count (P<0.05) without affecting lymphocyte count and packed cell volume, when compared to control. The extract did not alter sperm count, motility, morphology and viability as well as blood urea and creatinine levels. The extract did not alter histology and relative weights of the kidney and testis. It can be concluded that sub-acute administration of the aqueous extract of B. pinnatum did not produce any renal and testicular toxicity, but may depress neutrophil action. Key words: Bryophyllum pinnatum, favonoids, neutrophil, sub-acute, testis *Address for correspondence E-mail: sydaprio@yahoo.com This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as the author is credited and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms Accepted 07 May 2017 Revised 07 January 2017 Received 07 July 2016 Indian J Pharm Sci 2017;79(4):521-526