2025/08/18 by Imade, Rose Osarieme, Ogbegie, Frances
paper · doi:10.48347/imist.prsm/ajmap-v11i2.57057
Fibroids are benign uterine tumors caused by the growth of uterine smooth muscle cells, and estrogen and progesterone play a vital role in their growth. This study investigated the safety profile and effects of ethanol extract of Annona muricata leaves on serum estradiol and progesterone levels in female Wistar rats. The rats were administered the plant extract in graded doses (100 and 200 mg/kg) for 28 days after which blood samples and organs were collected for subacute toxicity studies and hormonal assay. Additionally, High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) was employed to identify bioactive compounds in the extract. The extract significantly raised creatinine level at 200 mg/kg (P≤0.05), but aspartate aminotransferase (P≤0.001) and alanine aminotransferase (P≤0.0001) levels were significantly lowered. The results also revealed a significant reduction in white blood cell (WBC) count (p≥0.05) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) (p≥0.01), but an increase in mean platelet volume (p≤0.0001) and platelet large cell ratio (p<0.0001) levels. A. muricata leaves extract demonstrated beneficial effects such as immune system boosting, increased blood circulation, and vasodilation in the organs. However, it caused bronchiolar ulceration in the lungs. Significant decrease of 63.39% (p<0.01) and 81.43% (P<0.001) was observed with estradiol and progesterone levels respectively, relative to the control, at 200 mg/kg dose. HPLC analysis of the extract revealed the presence of bioactive components such as annonacin, annocatalin, annonamide and kaempferol. This result shows that A. muricata leaves has some toxic effects but is able to lower estradiol and progesterone levels implicated in fibroid.