Jatropha tanjorensis which has been consumed locally as leafy vegetable and as medicinal plant for a number of years in Nigeria has recently been reported to be toxic to organs in the body. This study investigated the effect of methanolic leaf extract of the plant on liver and kidney functions in albino rats. The extracts was administered to the rats by oral intubation at doses of 0.5g/kg, 1.0g/kg and 2.0g/kg body weight daily for 21 days after which kidney and liver function indicators were measured in the serum. Measurement of organ weight index revealed that methanolic leaf extract of Jatropha tanjorensis caused significant increase (P<0.05) in kidney weight in rats. The extract also caused significant elevation of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and total bilirubin. There was no significant difference in the levels of alkaline phosphate (ALP) and acid phosphatase (ACP) between the test groups and the control. Significant increase in serum creatinine and urea was also observed in rats administered with the extract. These results suggest that administration of Jatropha tanjorensis leaf extract disrupted protein metabolism function of the liver and also interfered negatively with the filtration capacity of the kidney which might result in renal and hepatic dysfunction.
