Effect of oral administration of methanol leaf extract of Terminalia catappa (Tropical Almond) on serum hepato-markers

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of methanol leaf extract of Terminalia catappa. Freshly harvested leaves of T. catappa were washed, dried and ground into fine powder. The powdered plant sample was processed into extract. Twenty five adult male wistar rats were divided into five groups of five rats. Group I: was the normal control fed only with rat chow and water, Groups II-V were administered with 100, 200, 400 and 600 mg/kg of methanol leaf extract of Terminalia catappa (MLETC). Treatment lasted for 28 days, after which animals were sacrificed and blood sample collected analysed using standard procedures. The result obtained showed that oral administration of extract significantly (P<0.05) increased the activity of liver enzyme in a dose dependent manner. This may or may not necessarily imply that the extract is hepatotoxic as certain compounds can induce the said enzymes and may not mean that the liver is damaged.