IOSR Journal of Dental and Medical Sciences (IOSR-JDMS) e-ISSN: 2279-0853, p-ISSN: 2279-0861. Volume 9, Issue 1 (Jul.- Aug. 2013), PP 35-39 www.iosrjournals.org www.iosrjournals.org 35 | Page Biochemical Effects of Oral Administration of Aqueous Extract of Hibiscus sabdariffa on Wistar Albino Rats C. U. Emelike* and D. V. Dapper Haemorheology Research Unit, Department of Human Physiology, College of Health Sciences, University of Port Harcourt, PMB 5323, Port Harcourt, Nigeria Abstract: Hibiscus sabdariffa had been reported to have a broad range of therapeutic effects. The effects of oral administration of Hibiscus sabdariffa aqueous extract on some biochemical parameters were studied in wistar albino rats. A total of twenty five (25) male albino rats were grouped randomly into groups. Group A (control), Group B (0.6g/100ml of water of HS extract) Group C (1.2g/100ml HS extract), Group D (1.8g/100ml HS extract) and Group E (1.8g/100ml + vitamin C) and treatment period was 28 days. The results indicate an increase activity of liver function enzymes; alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST). This increase was statistically significant (p<0.05) when compared with Group A (control) in a dose dependent manner.No significant difference was observed in total and direct bilirubin in all the groups. Similarly for renal indices, bicarbonate (Hco 3 ), urea and creatinine in all the groups, but a significant increase (p<0.05) in sodium (Na+) and potassium (K+) and chloride were noted in comparison to the control.It is of note that there was no significant difference between results of Group E and the control (Group A). However, this study suggests that long term administration of the extract may indeed be toxic to liver and kidney especially at high doses. Key Words: Bilirubin, Hibiscus sabdariffa, liver enzymes (ASP, ALT, ALP), and renal indices I. Introduction For ages plants have been a good source of food and they provide essential nutritional values, medicinal properties and notable physiological effect to life [1]. Phytochemical screening procedures have unveiled the chemicals responsible for these functions [2]. Hibiscus sabdariffa is a herb belonging to the malvaceace family and it is cultivated for leaf, fleshy calyx, seed or fibre. It is an annual herbaceous shrub used in traditional medicine. The calyces of the plant are used as refrigerant in the form of tea, popularly known as zobo in Nigeria. The chemistry of the dried calyx revealed that per 100g, it contained 49 calories, 84.5 percent water, 1.9g protein, 0.1g fat, 12.3g total carbohydrates, 2.3g fibre, 1.2g ash, 1.72 mg calcium, 57mg phosphorous, 2.9mg iron and 14mg ascorbic acid. The presence of saponins, tannins and cyanogenic glycosides had been reported [3]. It had been reported to have antihypertensive, hepatoprotective, antihyperlipidemic, anticancer and antioxidant properties. Others include antiseptic, aphrodisiac (an agent that stimulates sexual excitement), astringent (a drug that causes cells to shrink by precipitating proteins from their surfaces, they protect the skin and reduce bleeding from minor abrasions), cholagogue (a drug that stimulates the flow of bile from the gall bladder and bile ducts into the duodenum), demulcent (a soothing agent that protects the mucous membranes and relieves irritation), emollient (an agent that soothes and softens the skin), digestive, purgative and sedative [1,4,5]. In this light, this study is designed to evaluate the effects of oral administration of aqueous extract Hibiscussabdariffa on some biochemical parameters. II. Materials And Methods 2.1 Preparation of extract Mature dry dark-red calyces of Hibiscus sabdariffa were purchased from a local market in Port Harcourt, Nigeria and authenticated by Mr. OgbonnayaObioma at the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI) Umudike, Umuahia, Abia State, Nigeria, the extraction procedure that were used as described previously [6]. Briefly, 30g of the dry petals of Hibiscus sabdariffa was brewed in 400ml of boiled distilled water for 45minutes. The resulting decoction was filtered using a filtration sieve (pore size 0.5mm diameter). It is expected that 10ml of the filtrate will evaporate to dryness and yielding 0.3665±0.002g, giving a concentration of 36.65±0.002mg/ml. The concentration in the exposed group above is derived as follows: 48ml of distilled water was added to 10ml of filtrate to make approximately 0.6g/100ml distilled water (Group B), 29ml of distilled water was added to 10ml of filtrate to make approximately 1.2g/100ml (Group C), 9ml of distilled water was added to