DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2018.v06i09.002

Pages: 3231-3238

Medicinal plants, either as an extract, pure compound or as a derivative, offer limitless opportunities for the discovery of new drugs. It is popularly believed that medicinal plants are safer than pharmaceuticals because they are of natural origin. However, recent scientific reports have demonstrated that several medicinal plants used in phytomedicine are potentially toxic, and some are even mutagenic and/or carcinogenic. Therefore emphasizes should be given to elucidate the safe use of any plant for medicinal purposes. The gall of Quercus infectoria (Family Fagaceae) is described in detail in ethnobotanical and literature to possess various pharmacological actions. In this study, Q. infectoria galls were selected for evaluation from a wide collection of examined plants (data not shown), traditional uses, folk medicine and literature survey. It was recorded that Q. infectoria galls contains many bioactive constituents, the majority of these compounds have notable antimicrobial activity. Tannins, especially those obtained from plants, have been found to possess strong antimicrobial activity. Tannins which constituted for almost 50-70% of Q. infectoria galls were reported to demonstrate most of the anti‑inflammatory, antibacterial, and antifungal activities. Apart from that, a small amount of gallic acid and ellagic acid were also present in the gall extracts. Despite the increasing number of reports on the medicinal benefits of the Q. infectoria galls, the in vivotoxicological effect of the plant extract has yet to be reported. It is therefore deemed necessary to evaluate the acute oral toxicity of the Q. infectoria galls extract in a rat model. The present study was aimed to determine LD50 and to establish the safety of ethanolic extract of Q. infectoriagallsby acute oral toxicity study in female rats as per Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) guideline 425. From the result of the acute toxicity study of ethanol extract of Q. infectoriagal