Evaluation of Bauhinia monandra aqueous and ethanol extracts in pregnant rats

Bauhinia monandra Kurz. (Fabaceae: Caesalpinioideae) is a plant widely employed in Brazilian folk medicine for hypoglycemia. However, little is known about the effect of maternal exposure to this plant on fetal development. The aqueous and ethanol extracts obtained from B. monandra dried leaves were administered to pregnant Wistar rats throughout gestation (day 1 to day 20) at 1,400 or 7,000 mg/kg/day (n = 6/group). Maternal toxicity was not observed in the dams of both groups, and was evaluated by observing body weight, water and food intake during treatment, by measuring serum biochemical levels of creatinine, urea, AST and ALT, and by studying the histopathology of liver, kidney, pancreas, spleen and uterus at the end of treatment (gestation day 20). Both extracts and doses did not impair reproductive performance or delay fetal development, measured by observing implantations and reabsorptions in the uterus, by counting the number of corpora lutea in ovaries, by recording the litter weight and number of live and dead fetuses and by analyzing possible skeleton and viscera malformations in the fetuses. Also, the aqueous extract promoted decreased post-implantation loss when compared to the control group. The aqueous and ethanol extracts from B. monandra dried leaves (1,400 or 7,000 mg/kg/day) did not cause maternal or fetal toxicities and the aqueous extract promoted increased implantation and decreased post-implantation loss in the pregnant rats.