SAFETY EVALUATION OF GALANGAL (ALPINIA GALANGA) EXTRACT FOR THERAPEUTIC USE AS AN ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT

Hexane extract of Galangal (Alpinia galanga) rhizome was evaluated for acute dermal, oral and intraperitoneal toxicities using OECD guidelines. The undiluted crude galangal extract showed negligible irritation on non-abraded skin of New Zealand white rabbits with 0.25 primary irritation index whereas the abraded skin of the rabbits showed irritation for all tested dilutions of galangal extracts; 0.75 g/ml, 0.5 g/ml, 0.25 g/ml and 0.125 g/ml. The single oral dose of the Galangal extract at 2000 mg/kg did not produce mortality or significant changes in the general behavior, body weights, feed intake and biochemical analysis (ALT, AST, BUN and creatinine levels) of Wistar rats compared to the control. However, 2000 mg/kg and 50 mg/kg body weight of galangal extract were highly toxic to Wistar rats when administered intraperitoneally. Galangal extract with concentrations <20 mg/ml were non-irritant on Hen’s egg chorioallantoic membrane which is an alternative to the Draize eye irritation test. INTRODUCTION: Some functional values of plants rich in phytochemicals and other secondary metabolites have been found in-vitro and developed into products to prevent or cure diseases. Further, medicinal plant extracts have provided enomorous opportunities towards developing various new drugs with different purposes in the modern pharmacological industry 1 . However, many medicinal plants are known to possess toxicological effect in both humans and animals 2 .