ASSESSMENT OF PHYTOCHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND EFFECTS OF AQUEOUS EXTRACT OF PIPER UMBELLATUM LEAVES ON BLOOD BIOMARKERS AND LIVER AND KIDNEY HISTOLOGY IN WISTAR RATS

Medicinal plants are used in traditional and alternative medicine for the management and prevention of various diseases.Piper umbellatum is used in Cote dIvoire to treat numerous kidney ailments and arterial hypertension.The aim of this study is to evaluate these effects on biomarkers and the histology of the kidney and liver.In this experimental study, 20 male and 20 female rats were divided randomly into 4 groups by gender (n=5) as control and three experimental groups receiving different doses of EAPu (400, 800 and 1000 mg/kg). At the end of the treatment, blood samples were taken from caudal vein, and serum urea, creatinine, ASAT and ALAT and blood count were analyzed and compared in control. All the animal’s kidneys and liver were exposed after dissection, and tissue sections were prepared for histopathological evaluation. Phytochemical analysis identified the presence of saponins, flavonoids, sterols, triterpenoids, coumarins, tannins, and phenolic compounds, whereas alkaloids were not detected. A significant decrease in ureaand creatininelevels was observed only in males, compared to the control group, at the dose of 1000 mg/kg BW (p < 0.05). No evidence of damage to renal and liver tissue was observed in this study. In conclusion, the aqueous extract reduced serum urea and creatinine levels, likely due to the identified phytochemicals of therapeutic interest, withoutinducing nephrotoxicity.