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Subchronic Toxicity of the Beverage Made from Cassia Occidentalis Seeds in Mice

Received: 9 June 2013     Published: 30 August 2013
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Abstract

Cassia occidentalis seeds are commonly used in West of Africa to prepare a beverage which serves as a substitute for coffee, however these seeds are known to be toxic. A 20-day subchronic oral toxicity of C. occidentalis seeds and beverage was evaluated in male and female albino mice. Raw or roasted seeds of C. occidentalis were administered in the diet of one group of mice at dose levels of 0 and 100g/kg/day for 20 days, while 1ml of water or of beverage prepared from raw or roasted seeds was administered two-time daily to another group. The addition of raw seeds to the diet had significant (p ≤ 0.05) effects with clinical signs attributable to the test compound including weight body loss, increase of liver enzymes (GOT and GPT) activity and serum ammonia level, decrease of serum protein level and increase of Hepato-somatic-index. Addition of roasted seeds in the diet or administration of beverages prepared from the seeds had no clinical signs attributable to the test compound. These findings indicate that roasting and extraction, the two key operations in the process of C. occidentalis beverage, eliminate the toxicity of the seeds. It is suggested that roasting destroys the toxin and water which is used as solvent during the infusion is inefficient to extract the toxin from the grounded seeds.

Published in International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences (Volume 2, Issue 5)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijnfs.20130205.14
Page(s) 237-242
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2013. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Cassia occidentalis, Beverage, Roasting, Toxicity

References
[1] Dennis, P. A. (1988). Herbal Medecine among Miskito of Eastern Nicaragua. Economic Botany, 42(1), 16-28.
[2] Gupta, M. P. (1979). Ethnopharmacognotics Observations on Panamanian Medicinal Plants. Part I. Quaterly Journal of Crude Drug Research, 17(3/4), 115-130.
[3] Nagaruja, N. (1990). A survey of Plant Crude Drugs of Rayalaseema, Andhra Pradesh, India. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 29(2), 137-158.
[4] Raintree Nutrition (1999).Tropical plant database: Feddegoso (Cassia occidentalis).Carson City, NV 89701:Raintree Nutrtion, Inc.
[5] Dupriez, H, & De Leener, P. (1987). Jardins et vergers d’Afrique. Terre et vie, Ed. L’Harmattan, Paris (354pp).
[6] Berhaut, J. (1975). Flore illustrée du Sénégal, Tome IV, Clairafrique Ed., Dakar, pp. 34-79.
[7] Marrero, F. E., Bulnees, G. C., & Perez, R. M. (1998). Cassia occidentalis toxicosis in heifers. Veterinary and Human Toxicology, 40(5), 307.
[8] Haraguchi, M., Calore, E. E., Dagli, M. L., Cavaliere, M. J., Calore, N. M., Weg, R., Raspantini, P. C., & Gorniak, S. L. (1998). Muscle atrophy induced in broiler chicks by parts of Senna occidentalis seeds. Veterinary Research Communication, 22(4), 265-271.
[9] Calore, E. E., Cavalier, M. J., Haraguchi, M., Gorniak, S. L., Dagli, M. L., Raspantini, P. C., Calore, N. M., & Weg, R. (1998). Toxic peripheral neuropathy of chiks fed Senna occidentalis seeds. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 39(1), 27-30.
[10] Cavaliere, M. J., Calore, E. E., Haraguchi, M., Gorniak, S. L., Dagli, M. L., Raspantini, P. C., Calore, N. M., & Weg, R. (1997). Mitochondrial myopathy in Senna occidentalis seeds fed chicken. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 37(2), 181-185.
[11] Flory, W., Spainhour, C. B., Colvin, B., & Herbert, C. D. (1992). The toxicologic investigation of a feed grain contaminated with seeds of the plant species Cassia. Journal of Veterinary Diagnotic Investigation, 4(1), 65-69.
[12] Colvin, B. M., Harrison, L. R., Sangster, L. T., & Gosser, H. S.(1986). Cassia occidentalis toxicosis in growing pigs. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 189(4), 423-426.
[13] Medoua, N. G., & Mbofung, C. M. F. (2007). Kinetics studies of some physico-chemical substances during roasting and preparation of beverage made by Cassia occidentalis seeds. LWT, 40(4), 730–736.
[14] Suliman, H. B., & Shommein A. M. (1986). Toxic effect of the roasted and unroasted beans of Cassia occidentalis in goats. Veterinary and Human Toxicology, 28(1), 6-11.
[15] Hebert, C. D., Flory, W., Seger, C., & Blanchard, R. E. (1983) Preliminary isolation of a myodegerative toxic principle from Cassia occidentalis. American Journal of Veterinary Researh, 44(7), 1370-1374.
[16] Graziano, M. J., Flory, W., Seger, C. L., & Hebert, C. D. (1983). Effect of a Cassia occidentalis extract in the domestic chicken (Gallus domesticus). American Journal of Veterinary Research, 44(7), 1238-1244.
[17] NIH (1996). Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. The National Academies Press, Washington, DC, USA, 125 p.
[18] Bradford, M. M. (1976). A rapid and sensitive method for the quantitation of microgram quantities of protein utilizing the principle of protein-dye binding. Anal. Biochem, 72, 248-254.
[19] Suliman H. B., Wasfi I. A. et Adam S. E. (1982). The toxicity of Cassia occidentalis to goats. Veterinary and Human Toxicology, 24(5), 326-330.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Véronique Josette Essa’a, Gabriel Nama Medoua. (2013). Subchronic Toxicity of the Beverage Made from Cassia Occidentalis Seeds in Mice. International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences, 2(5), 237-242. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnfs.20130205.14

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    ACS Style

    Véronique Josette Essa’a; Gabriel Nama Medoua. Subchronic Toxicity of the Beverage Made from Cassia Occidentalis Seeds in Mice. Int. J. Nutr. Food Sci. 2013, 2(5), 237-242. doi: 10.11648/j.ijnfs.20130205.14

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    AMA Style

    Véronique Josette Essa’a, Gabriel Nama Medoua. Subchronic Toxicity of the Beverage Made from Cassia Occidentalis Seeds in Mice. Int J Nutr Food Sci. 2013;2(5):237-242. doi: 10.11648/j.ijnfs.20130205.14

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijnfs.20130205.14,
      author = {Véronique Josette Essa’a and Gabriel Nama Medoua},
      title = {Subchronic Toxicity of the Beverage Made from Cassia Occidentalis Seeds in Mice},
      journal = {International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences},
      volume = {2},
      number = {5},
      pages = {237-242},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijnfs.20130205.14},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnfs.20130205.14},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijnfs.20130205.14},
      abstract = {Cassia occidentalis seeds are commonly used in West of Africa to prepare a beverage which serves as a substitute for coffee, however these seeds are known to be toxic. A 20-day subchronic oral toxicity of C. occidentalis seeds and beverage was evaluated in male and female albino mice. Raw or roasted seeds of C. occidentalis were administered in the diet of one group of mice at dose levels of 0 and 100g/kg/day for 20 days, while 1ml of water or of beverage prepared from raw or roasted seeds was administered two-time daily to another group. The addition of raw seeds to the diet had significant (p ≤ 0.05) effects with clinical signs attributable to the test compound including weight body loss, increase of liver enzymes (GOT and GPT) activity and serum ammonia level, decrease of serum protein level and increase of Hepato-somatic-index. Addition of roasted seeds in the diet or administration of beverages prepared from the seeds had no clinical signs attributable to the test compound. These findings indicate that roasting and extraction, the two key operations in the process of C. occidentalis beverage, eliminate the toxicity of the seeds. It is suggested that roasting destroys the toxin and water which is used as solvent during the infusion is inefficient to extract the toxin from the grounded seeds.},
     year = {2013}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Subchronic Toxicity of the Beverage Made from Cassia Occidentalis Seeds in Mice
    AU  - Véronique Josette Essa’a
    AU  - Gabriel Nama Medoua
    Y1  - 2013/08/30
    PY  - 2013
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnfs.20130205.14
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijnfs.20130205.14
    T2  - International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences
    JF  - International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences
    JO  - International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences
    SP  - 237
    EP  - 242
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2327-2716
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnfs.20130205.14
    AB  - Cassia occidentalis seeds are commonly used in West of Africa to prepare a beverage which serves as a substitute for coffee, however these seeds are known to be toxic. A 20-day subchronic oral toxicity of C. occidentalis seeds and beverage was evaluated in male and female albino mice. Raw or roasted seeds of C. occidentalis were administered in the diet of one group of mice at dose levels of 0 and 100g/kg/day for 20 days, while 1ml of water or of beverage prepared from raw or roasted seeds was administered two-time daily to another group. The addition of raw seeds to the diet had significant (p ≤ 0.05) effects with clinical signs attributable to the test compound including weight body loss, increase of liver enzymes (GOT and GPT) activity and serum ammonia level, decrease of serum protein level and increase of Hepato-somatic-index. Addition of roasted seeds in the diet or administration of beverages prepared from the seeds had no clinical signs attributable to the test compound. These findings indicate that roasting and extraction, the two key operations in the process of C. occidentalis beverage, eliminate the toxicity of the seeds. It is suggested that roasting destroys the toxin and water which is used as solvent during the infusion is inefficient to extract the toxin from the grounded seeds.
    VL  - 2
    IS  - 5
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Centre for Food and Nutrition Research, IMPM, Yaoundé, Cameroon

  • Centre for Food and Nutrition Research, IMPM, Yaoundé, Cameroon

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