Int. J. Med. Arom. Plants, ISSN 2249 – 4340 RESEARCH ARTICLE Vol. 3, No. 3, pp. 375-381, September 2013 *Corresponding author: (E-mail) s.halmi25 <@> yahoo.fr http://www.openaccessscience.com © 2013 Copyright by the Authors, licensee Open Access Science Research Publisher. ijmap@openaccessscience.com This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC- ND 3.0) License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0 ) Pharmaco-toxicological study of Opuntia ficus indica L. aqueous extract in experimental animals S. HALMI 1* , B. BENLAKSIRA 1 , K. BECHTARZI 1 , K. BEROUEL 1 , M. SERAKTA 1 , F. RIACHI 1 , H. DJAALAB 1 , Z. MAAMERI 1 , Z. DJERROU 1 , Y. HAMDI PACHA 1,2 1 Pharmacology and Toxicology Laboratory, Department of Veterinary Sciences, Institute of Veterinary Sci- ences, Constantine, Algeria 2 National Superior School of Veterinary, Algeria Article History: Received 3 rd August 2013, Revised 3 rd September 2013, Accepted 5 th September 2013. Abstract: Opuntia ficus indica is used in traditional medicine for the treatment of hyperlipidemia, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes and dermal burns. The aim of present study was to analyze and compare the effects caused by the Opuntia ficus indica aqueous extract on serum and lipid parameters in white male rabbits (initial mean weight 1.95 kg). Rabbits were divided into two groups (n=6), the first group represented the control group, fed with standard diet; the second group was fed with the control diet supplemented orally with OAE (2ml/kg), once a day, 7 days per week, for 3 months. Food and water were provided ad-libitum. The Rabbits body weights were measured every week. Organ weights were determined at the end of treatment. Blood samples were subject to the determination of fasting blood glucose, serum lipid profile, serum protein and albumin, creatinine and urea. The results showed that there was a significant difference in the body weight of the two groups. The relative weights in the OAE group of pancreas and kidneys were similar to those of the control, while, weights of liver were lower than those in the control group. Biochemical analysis showed that cholesterol (CHOL) and triglycerides (TG) were significantly decreased in blood plasma respectively in OAE group. Glucose level (GLU) was significantly lower in OAE group; the rest of the parameters (Albumine, Total proteins, Creatinine, Urea) were not significantly affected. However, these variations do not show any biological toxicity. Keywords: Opuntia ficus indica; Liver; Serum; Cholesterol; Triglycerides; glucose; rabbits. Introduction Cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica), commonly known as prickly pear, belongs to the family Cactaceae. Family Cactaceae is reported to con- tain about 130 genera and nearly 1500 species. This plant is native of Mexico and it is widely distributed in Mexico and in all American hemi- spheres as well as in Africa and in the Mediter- ranean basin (Manpreet et al. 2012) Previous studies demonstrated that species of Opuntia are rich in flavonoids (kaempferol, quercetin, narcissin, taxifolin and other phenolics); lactones known as alpha-pyrones (opuntiosides) (Qiu et al. 2007); terpenoids (lupenone, freideline, and others) and alkaloids (mescaline, hordenine, tyramine, and others) (Lee et al. 2003, Jiang et al. 2003). Betalain pigments (betanin, indicaxanthin) are at least found in the fruits (Butera et al. 2002) and act as anti-oxidants. It has been used in traditional folk medicine because of its role in treating a number of dis- eases and conditions, including anti- inflammatory effects hypoglycemic effects inhi- bition of stomach ulceration, neuroprotective effects Through antioxidant actions and also used for treating diabetes, burns, bronchial, asthma and indigestion in many countries over the world. It is also used in Pharma industry as a pharmaceutical agent. The fruit, as well as cac- tus stem are used to prepare value-added prod- ucts, such as jam, squash, wine, pickle, body lotions, shampoo, creams, etc. It also has several medicinal and industrial uses. Its seeds can be used as flavouring agents. Due to the remarka- ble biological activity of Opuntia and its con- stituents, it will be appropriate to develop them as a medicine (Manpreet et al. 2012). Therefore, the aim of the current study was to evaluate the effect of diet supplemented with cladodes aqueous extract (OAE) comparatively