Avaliação da toxicidade reprodutiva de ratas Wistar submetidas à ingestão do extrato etanólico das folhas de nim(Azadirachta indica A. Juss)

• Autor(a) principal: SILVA, Vanessa Carla Lima da
• Data de Publicação: 2010
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Biblioteca Digital de Teses e Dissertações da UFRPE
• Texto Completo: http://www.tede2.ufrpe.br:8080/tede2/handle/tede2/5879
• topic: Rato; Gestação; Lactação; Reprodução; Planta medicinal; Nim; Rat; Pregnancy; Lactation; Reproduction; Neem; Medicinal plants; CIENCIAS AGRARIAS::MEDICINA VETERINARIA

Neem (Azadirachta indica A. Juss) is a plant of the Meliaceae family. It is commonly used in India as a contraceptive and worldwide as a means of controlling insect proliferation.In veterinary medicine it has been gaining attention due to its anti-helmintic and ectoparasitic properties. This study aims at evaluating the effects of oral administration of the neem’s ethanolic extract in wistar rats during pregnancy and lactation. Forty rats weighting between 300 and 400g were randomly selected to make four groups of 10 animals each. These were treated with ethanolic extract of neem’s leaves at a concentration of 20mg/mL and divided into the following groups: group 1 (Control)–the rats were treated with a solution containing distilled water, Cremophor and DMSO (Dimethyl Sulfoxide) at 10%.Group 2–the rats were treated with 50mg/Kg.Group 3–the rats were treated with 100mg/kg.Group 4–the rats were treated with 200mg/Kg.The solutions under analysis have been administered via an orogastric catheter in pregnancy days 4, 5 and 6. Four animals in each group, under dissociative anesthesia with xylazine at 2% and ketamine at 10%, have been submitted to euthanasia in gestational day 9 and the ovaries, embryos and uterine fragments have been collected. These have been weighted, evaluated microscopically and fixed in buffered formaldehyde at 10% for histomorphometric examination. The remaining six animals in each group have also been treated during lactation for 15 days and then clinically evaluated for signs of systemic or reproductive toxicity. The neonates have been weighted, sexed, evaluated on a daily basis for signs of systemic toxicity and abnormalities in nervous system development. During the study period, there was no statistically significant difference in terms of numbers and weights of implanted embryos when comparing the control and the experimental group. The same is true regarding body weight of pregnant rats and their lactants. Similarly, no significant histomorphometric difference in the ovaries or uterine fragments has been observed amongst the studied groups. Neem’s ethanolic extract in the studied concentrations did not show any systemic or reproductive toxicity in the treated animals during the first third of pregnancy and lactation, nor any developmental abnormalities in the rats offsprings. Therefore, we conclude that neem at the studied concentrations is safety for use in rats throughout pregnancy and lactation.