Abstract

Allergy is a widespread global public health problem which can lead to serious complications. Over 20% of the world population suffers from IgE mediated allergic diseases which mostly lead to allergic inflammation of the affected skin resulting in acute or chronic nociception and pain. Most cases of allergy originate from plants; trichomes of J. tanjorensis can cause immune system overreaction on the skin. This research aimed at evaluation of allergenicity and toxicity of methanolic leaf extract of Jatropha tanjorensis. Fresh leaves of J. tanjorensis were collected from household gardens within Kaduna metropolis, Nigeria. Methanolic extract of the plant was subjected to phytochemical analysis, acute toxicity test, GC-MS and FT-IR analyses. Phytochemical screening revealed high concentration of alkaloids and flavonoids. The toxicity study recorded neither mortality nor any signs of behavioral changes after oral administration of J. tanjorensis extract at experimental doses of 10, 100, 1000, 1600, 2900 and 5000 mg kg^-1 b.w. Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) revealed the presence of 9,12-Octadecadienoic acid (0.65%), n-Hexadecanoic acid (8.69%), and Methotrexate (0.89%) which possibly accounts for its allergenic activities while FT-IR analysis revealed the presence of functional groups in the plant sample. The result suggests that the methanolic leaf extract of Jatropha tanjorensis is non toxic and the allergenic property is due to the presence of 9,12-Octadecadienoic acid, n-Hexadecanoic acid and Methotrexate.

Ayagwa, A.T., Vantsawa, P.A., Abdulsalami, M.S., Egbe, N.E., Dan, V.M.Y., Comfort, S.Y., Enoh, E.E., 2024. Allergenicity and toxicity of methanolic leaf extracts of Jatropha tanjorensis. Plant Health Archives, 2024, online first.