Mazumder and Pathak, IJPSR, 2014; Vol. 5(11): 4800-4807. E-ISSN: 0975-8232; P-ISSN: 2320-5148 International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research 4800 IJPSR (2014), Vol. 5, Issue 11 (Research Article) Received on 15 April, 2014; received in revised form, 25 June, 2014; accepted, 19 July, 2014; published 01 November, 2014 ACUTE AND 28-DAY REPEATED DOSE TOXICITY OF AVERRHOA CARAMBOLA LEAVES ETHANOLIC EXTRACT IN RODENTS Sandipan Mazumder * 1 and Manash Pratim Pathak 2 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Assam University 1 , Silchar-788011, Assam, India. Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Veterinary Science, Khanapara, Assam Agriculture University 2 , Guwahati-22, Assam, India. ABSTRACT: Averrhoa carambola -L. (Oxalidaceae) has great importance in the Indian traditional system of medicine for controlling diabetes and piles: the combined extracts of leaves as well as fruits of A. carambola are used for the treatment of jaundice, gastric problems and other chronic conditions as well as in food supplements. The objective underlying this experiment is to determine the safety profile of the plant used on a daily basis as well as for prolonged exposure to subjects. In this study, we analyzed the influence of ethanol extract of Averrhoa carambola at a dose level of 2000 mg kg- 1 bw on the acute and with a graded dose levels from 250, 500, 1000 and 2000 mg kg- 1 bw for 28-day repeated-dose toxicity test in Wistar rats. The analysis revealed that the repeated oral dose of Averrhoa carambola L. at a dose level upto 2000 mg kg- 1 bw for 28 days did not induce any biochemical, hematological, morphological, histopathological signs of toxicity. High dose of Averrhoa carambola L. extract did not inhibit the body weight gain, while the food consumption decreased slightly for the nutritional effects of it in both male and female Wistar rats. In the histopathological findings, no toxic signs were observed on any of the tissues and organs examined and thus determining its safety profile on prolonged exposure. INTRODUCTION: The conception of Indian traditional system of medicine had served from the prehistoric ages as the promising sources of therapeutics for the mankind. The World Health Organization (WHO) has listed 21,000 plants, which are used for medicinal purposes around the world. Among these 2500 species are in India, out of which 150 species are used commercially on a fairly large scale. India is the largest producer of medicinal herbs and is called as botanical garden of the world 1 . QUICK RESPONSE CODE DOI: 10.13040/IJPSR.0975-8232.5(11).4800-07 Article can be accessed online on: www.ijpsr.com DOI link: http://dx.doi.org/10.13040/IJPSR.0975-8232.5(11).4800-07 Now a day, it has been seen that slowly and steadily, the modern synthetically developed drugs are replacing the ones obtained from natural source because of their well defined and systematic scientific approaches owing to its safety and curative concern. It has been seen that natural products and herbal formulations under the roof of modern medicines are administered in the majority of the disease conditions without emphasizing on proper dose monitoring, regulatory enforcement and toxicological effect that might result from such an extended use. So setting up of a regulatory toxicological profile is very essential for natural products. As per the Indian Drugs and Cosmetics Act, currently there are no separate categories of herbal drugs or allopathic medicines 2 . Keywords: Chronic conditions, safety profile, biochemical, hematological, histopathological, nutritional effects. Correspondence to Author: Sandipan Mazumder Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Assam University Silchar Silchar, Assam- 788011, India. E-mail: sandipanmeister@gmail.com