Effect Of The Methanol Extract Of The Leaves Of Anacardium Occidentale On The Activity Of Superoxide Dismutase (Sod) Of Indomethacin- Ulcerated Rats:- Wogu Nesochi A.

ABSTRACT vi Plants have been the basis for medical treatments through much of human history and such traditional medicine is still widely in use today such as the leaves of Anacardium occidentals. The objectives of this work were to examine the phytochemical constituents, acute toxicity and lethality and effect of the methanol extract of the leaves of A. occidentals on the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) of indomethacin-ulcerated rats. The preliminary phytochemical screening revealed that the extract contained alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, saponins, carbohydrates, reducing sugars, proteins, steroids, terpenoids and fats and oil but resins, glycosides and acidic compounds were not detected in the extract. The . extract was found to be safe even at a dose as high as 5000 mg/kg body weight (b.w). The extract at the tested doses (100, 200 and 400 mg/kg b.w) caused significant (p < 0.05) and dose-dependent increases in the activities of SOD of the rats in the test groups compared to the value obtained for the rats in the control group. The effect of the 400 mg/kg b.w of the extract was similar to that of the standard anti-ulcer drug, famitidene at the dose of 50 mg/kg b.w. The results indicate that the methanol extract of the leaves of A. occidental contains some pharmacological active principles which may boost the activity of SOD in the treated rats