Hepatotoxicity and Nephrotoxicity Evaluation of Carob Extract (Ceratonia siliqua) in Balb/C Mice

The Ceratonia siliqua is a species of medicinal plants of the Fabaceae family that has a very strong antioxidant activity.

In regard to, no research has been done so far on the toxicity of carob, this study was conducted to determine the effects of different doses of carob fruit on histopathology of the liver and kidney, as well as serum levels of liver enzymes, urea and creatinine in adult male mice.

In this experimental study, 35 adult male Balb/c mice were randomly divided into five groups (control, sham, and C200 to C800). The C200 to C800 groups received intraperitoneally doses of 200, 400 and 800 mg/kg of carob extract for 14 days. Blood samples were taken from the heart and after serum centrifugation, they were evaluated for liver enzymes, urea and creatinine. In addition, the liver and kidneys were examined histopathologically by staining hematoxylin and eosin. SPSS software and one-way ANOVA were used to analyze the data.

There was no significant difference between the mean level of urea and creatinine in the groups received carob compared to the control group (P > 0.05). Besides, statistical analysis did not show a significant difference in the mean level of ALT and AST in the carob group compared to the control group (P > 0.05). In the liver sections, hepatocytes with normal central venous and normal port veins were visible. In the sections of the kidneys, the glomeruli were visible with normal kidney tubules.

The results of this study showed that the carob extract in these dosages not have a toxic effect on the liver and kidney of the mouse.