The Proximate and Phytochemical Analyses of Aqueous Root Extract of Piliostigma thonningii and its Effects on Indices of Well-being in Experimental Animals

Plants have constituted a significant quota to the sustainability of humans as food, medicines and raw materials for other uses. Increased awareness of the significance of medicinal plants led to more studies focused on the phytochemistry and proximate analysis of plants. The current study explored the proximate and phytochemical analyses of the aqueous root extract of Piliostigma thonningii and its effects on the haematology, hepatic function indices and histopathology of liver and kidney of male rabbits. The rabbits were administered 100 mg of the aqueous root extract of P. thonningii/kg body weight of rabbit once daily for twenty-two days. The sample had high carbohydrate and crude fibre contents of 55.63 % and 28.80 % respectively. The aqueous root extract of P. thonningii is rich in saponins, tannins and flavonoids. The extract caused no significant change in the concentration of leukocytes, erythrocytes, haemoglobin and platelets of the animals. P. thonningii significantly (p < 0.05) increased the level of total protein in the administered animals. The photomicrographs of the liver and kidney of some animals administered the aqueous root extract of P. thonningii revealed minor injuries in the organs examined, which were absent in the control group.