Toxicity of Chrozophora obliqua in rats.

The toxicity to Wistar rats of Saudi Chrozophora obliqua used in traditional medicine for the treatment of diverse ailments was investigated. C. obliqua leaves were fed to rats at 2% or 10% of the standard diet. When compared with controls, body weight gains and feed efficiency were adversely affected by both treatments. Although the rats fed 10% C. obliqua diet had the lowest growth rate, bouts of soft faeces and enterohepatonephropathy no death occurred among the rats. These changes were accompanied by increases in serum GGT and AST activities, in urea and cholesterol concentrations, decreases in total protein and albumin levels, macrocytic hypochromic anaemia and leucopenia. Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.