~ 15 ~ International Journal of Herbal Medicine 2020; 8(6): 15-18 E-ISSN: 2321-2187 P-ISSN: 2394-0514 www.florajournal.com IJHM 2020; 8(6): 15-18 Received: 06-09-2020 Accepted: 11-10-2020 Swarna Hapuarachchi Department of Dravyaguna Vignana, Institute of Indigenous Medicine, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka Thusarie Suresh Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka Sandun Senarath Department of Botany, Faculty of Applied Sciences, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka Corresponding Author: Swarna Hapuarachchi Department of Dravyaguna Vignana, Institute of Indigenous Medicine, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka Safety assessment of the water extract of Munronia pinnata in wistar rats Swarna Hapuarachchi, Thusarie Suresh and Sandun Senarath Abstract Munronia pinnata (Meliaceae) is an important medicinal plant in Sri Lanka and it hasbeen broadly used for skin diseases, diabetes, fever and dysentery in the form of concoction and powder due to its bitterness. In Sri Lanka thishas been applied for hundreds of years asunorthodox medicine. This study was focused to assess the possible toxicity of the water extracts of M. pinnata (MPW) in healthy and diabetic Wistar rats. Acute and chronic administration of MPW produced no neither mortality nor changes in general behaviors compared with Control groups. The results showed no statistically significant changes in hematological and biochemical values of Test groups compared to the control groups of both healthy and diabetic animals. These results disclosed that the water extract of M. pinnata do not cause any undesirable effects as evaluated by the attempted studied. Keywords: Munronia pinnata, hematological and biochemical assays, toxicity study 1. Introduction Munronia pinnata (Wall) Theob (Meliaceae) called “Bin Kohomba” is a precious medicinal plant in Sri Lanka. It has been widely used by traditional physicians as a substitute for Swertia chirata (Gentianaceae) in the preparations of Sudarshan Churna and Daruparpatadi kwatha [1] with no known literature evidence. Moreover, ithasbeen remarkably used for diabetes, skin diseases, dysentery, and fever in the form of concoction and powder due to its bitterness [2, 3] . However, according to Sri Lankan traditional practitioners, M. pinnata has been used in folk medicine for centuries. The previous studies of the water and ethanol extracts of the natural plant of M. pinnata have shown the dose-dependent hypoglycemic [5-7] and anti-inflammatory activity [8] in diabetic and healthy Wistar rats. Despite its historical usage in traditional medicinal practice, possible toxicity study of MP has not been investigated yet using scientifically controlled experiments. Hence, the present study was thus to evaluate the safety of the water extract of MP by determining the behavioral and biochemical effects following long-term administration in healthy Wistar rats 2. Materials and Methods 2.1. Collection and authentication of plant material Munronia pinnata whole plants were collected from the medicinal plant nursery at Haldummulla, Department of Ayurveda, Sri Lanka, and maintained in the planthouse at the Department of Dravyaguna Vignana, Institute of Indigenous Medicine, Rajagiriya, University of Colombo. M. pinnata plant was taxonomically identified and authenticated by the National Herbarium, Department of National Botanic Gardens, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka where a voucher specimen was deposited (PDA/ MP 01). The air-dried herbs were coarsely powdered and used for the preparation of extractions. Ethical clearance for the study was obtained from the Ethics Review Committee of Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Sri Jayewardenepura (474/09). 2.2. Preparation of extractions The water extract of whole plants of M. pinnata was prepared according to the conventional method [2] used by traditional medical practitioners in Sri Lanka. Air-dried coarsely powdered [60.0 g (12 kalan)] of whole plants (MPW) of M. pinnata were mixed with 1920.0 mL (8 parts = patha) of water in an earthen vessel and boiled over moderate heat and reduced to 1/8 th part (240.0 mL). This gives the conventional dose for an adult which is 240.0 mL per day. The prepared extract was freeze-dried and stored at 4 0 C until used.