Preliminary toxicity evaluation of Quassia indica (Gaertn.) nooteboom extract in freshwater fish (cyprinidae family) / Stacey Lipang Musa

The extracts of many plants used in traditional medicine contain curative agents that are used in many modern medicines. As part of the quest for potentially valuable plants of medicinal value, the plant species Quassia indica were chosen based on ethno-pharmacological knowledge as mainly this genus Quassia is known of in Asia. This plant was collected from the Kinabatangan River, Sabah. The aim of this study was to test the toxicity of the crude extract of the plant sample using fresh water fish (Cyprinidae family) as the subject of the study. This was accomplished by observing different results obtained using different solvents for extractions of crude extract. 100g of plant powdered species were extracted with 50% methanol and 50% ethanol. The fresh water fish was reared for 10 days before testing was done, and also the pH, temperature and environment of the fish was let to live in be controlled. The crude extracts from methanol and ethanol showed different results when the toxicity testing of two trials was done. The results obtained led to what level of toxicity that might the plant possess. There might be other factor that can influenced the result that was obtained, which fatality only occurred in the crude extract from the ethanol solvent. The dosage of the plant plays a crucial role in determining the toxicity and whether it is safe for human consumption.