TOXICITY ASSESSMENT OF KEDROSTIS AFRICANA COGN: A MEDICINAL PLANT USED IN THE MANAGEMENT OF OBESITY IN SOUTH AFRICA USING BRINE SHRIMP (ARTEMIA SALINA LINN.) ASSAY

Baboon’s Cucumber (Kedrostis africana (Linnaeus) Cogn is a monoecious caudiciform plant that belongs to Cucurbitaceae family. Baboon’s Cucumber is used traditionally for the management of syphilis and obesity in South Africa. In the present study, we examined the hatchability and lethality of Baboon’s Cucumber bulb extracts against brine shrimps. The tested samples were aqueous extract, acetone extract, and ethanol extract. Cytotoxicity was screened using Brine Shrimp Lethality Test (BSLT). The hatching success was in the order: ethanol extracts (49.2%) >aqueous extract (45.4%) >acetone extract (45.2%). All the extracts hatching success were significantly higher than the positive control (potassium dichromate) (p <0.05). Based on Clarkson’s toxicity index, LC₅₀> 1 mg/mL were considered non-toxic for acetone extract while the aqueous and ethanolic extracts were considered to be moderately toxic (LC₅₀ 100-500 μg/mL) with LC₅₀ of 0.298 and 0.489 mg/mL respectively. In conclusion, since the aqueous and ethanolic bulb extracts of K. africana exhibits potent cytotoxic property comparable to that of standard drug. Therefore, this might be utilized for the development of novel anticancer drug leads and the nontoxic acetonic extracts could further be exploited for the development of plant-based pharmaceuticals.