Original Research Article
Year: 2016 | Month: September | Volume: 3 | Issue: 9 | Pages: 1-5
The Toxic Effects of Cucurbitacin in Paddy Melon (Cucumis Myriocarpus) on Rats
Violet Nakhungu Momanyi
Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), National Agricultural, Research Laboratories (NARL), P.O. Box 14733-00800, NAIROBI, Kenya.
ABSTRACT
Untold losses of livestock are caused by various poisonous plant families each year globally, through death, physical malformation, abortion and lowered gain. Such families include; Solanaceae, Apocynaceae, Euphobiaceae and Cucubitaceae, where paddy melon (Cucumis myriocarpus) belongs. The main objective of the study was to carry out acute toxicity test of crude cucurbitacin in the ripe fruits of paddy melon (Cucumis myriocarpus) and determine its lethal dose (LD50) on laboratory rats. The crude extract of paddy melon was highly lethal, with an LD50 of 0.68g/kg body weight.
Key words: Cucumis myriocarpus, Toxicity, rats, LD50.