Repeated oral administration of Febi super bitters correlated with some tissue toxicity in male Wistar rat.

This study investigated the toxic implication of Febi Super Bitters in Male Wistar rats because of upsurge in its usage for therapeutic reasons. Eighteen rats, with an average weight of 86.2 +/- 4.43 g, were randomly distributed into three equal groups of six rats per group. The rats were acclimatized for 14 days and 0.308 and 0.462 mL kg(-1) b.wt. of Febi super bitters were administered daily to groups B and C, respectively for 56 days, while group A received distilled water. The toxicity of the herbal bitter was assessed by determining the activities of Lactate Dehydrogenate (LDH), Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP) and Acid Phosphatase (ACP) in the liver, kidney, small intestine, heart, brain, lungs, spleen, serum and histological studies on the organs. The activities of LDH were significantly reduced (p < 0.05) in the liver, small intestine and lung, while it increased significantly (p < 0.05) in the brain and serum. ALP activities decreased significantly (p < 0.05) in the liver, kidney, small intestine and heart but increased (p < 0.05) in brain, spleen and serum. ACP activities in the liver and kidney were decreased (p<0.05) and increased significantly (p < 0.05) in the spleen and serum. Increases were significantly recorded in serum total bilirubin, unconjugated bilirubin, total protein and globulin, while reductions were recorded in the conjugated bilirubin and A/G (p < 0.05). Histoarchitecture of the lungs, spleen and small intestine revealed marked cellular distortions. In the light of these findings, the habitual consumption of Febi super bitters is not recommended as it has underlined toxicity in some vital internal organs.