Safety evaluation of the extract from the roots of Pelargonium reniforme Curtis in male wistar rats

Pelargonium reniforme Curtis is an herb used for the treatment of various human and animal diseases especially in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. The effects of the oral administration of aqueous extract of the plant roots at 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg body weight for 21 days on some haematological and biochemical parameters in male Wistar rats were investigated. Oral treatments with this extract did not cause any significant change in the white blood cell count, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular haemoglobin, mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration, neutrophils, monocytes, large unsustained cells, basophils, total and conjugated bilirubin. Also, the extract did not affect the level of albumin, gamma glutamyl transferase, alanine aminotransaminase, aspartate aminotransaminase, cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol and the organ body-weight ratio of the animals. The levels of potassium, urea, calcium and magnesium were also not affected by the extract. However, the red blood cell count, haemoglobin, platelets, lymphocytes, total proteins, globulin and sodium levels were increased significantly while the levels of alkaline phosphatase, chloride and uric acid were reduced significantly by the extract. In addition, the levels of packed cell volume, red cell distribution width, eosinophils, triglycerides, creatinine and inorganic phosphorus were altered at specific doses. The available results of this study suggest that the aqueous root extract of P. reniforme is not toxic at the doses used in this study and may be safe for medicinal uses.   Key words: Pelargonium reniforme, haematological parameters, biochemical parameters.