Study on acute oral toxicity, antioxidant and anti - inflammatory activities of betel’s extract (Piper betle L. Piperaceae)

Abstract

    The study used standardized betel leaf extract with 96 % alcohol and water. For in vitro study, antioxidant capacity of betel’s extract was performed by DPPH method - free radical scavenging. In vivo testing was performed on Swiss albino mice, (6-8) weeks aged, with an average weight of about 22 g. The investigation of acute oral toxicity was performed at 5,000 mg/kg dosage with a volume of 50 mL/kg of rat, monitoring mortality and toxicity within 14 days. The anti-inflammatory effect of extract at doses of (200, 400 and 800) mg/kg was evaluated in mice induced with paw inflammation with 1 % carrageenan. Diclofenac 5 mg/kg was used as a drug reference. The results showed that betel’s extract showed an antioxidant activity with IC₅₀ of 8.25 µg/mL, about 3 times worse than quercetin. This extract does not cause acute oral toxicity at a concentration of 5,000 mg/kg, and is classified in category 6 – a substance that is almost non-toxic according to GSH (Globally Harmonised System for Classification of Chemicals). In the carragenan-induced inflammation model, this extract showed a significant reduction in paw edema in mice at (200, 400 and 800) mg/kg doses (p < 0.05).