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The cytotoxic effects of a traditional Zulu remedy, impila (Callilepis laureola)

Indigenous Toxicology Unit; Department of Chemical Pathology, University of the Witwatersrand Medical School, 7 York Road, Parktown 2193, Gauteng, South Africa; mikes{at}mail.saimr.wits.ac.za

V Steenkamp

Indigenous Toxicology Unit, Department of Chemical Pathology, University of the Witwatersrand, Gauteng, South Africa

S Van der merwe

Department of Gastroenterology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa

M Zuckerman

Department of Paediatrics, Coronation hospital, Johannesburg, South Africa

N J Crowther

Indigenous Toxicology Unit, Department of Chemical Pathology, University of the Witwatersrand, Gauteng, South Africa

The traditional Zulu remedy impila (Callilepis laureola) can cause acute fatal hepatocellular necrosis, especially in children. We investigated the mechanism(s) of toxicity using HuH-7 hepatocytes. Impila tubers were extracted with boiling water and the aqueous extract was used at different concentrations to study the effects on the morphology of the cells. Flow cytometry and labelling with fluorescent antibodies to tubulin were also used. At high concentrations, necrosis occurred; however, at lower concentrations, the extracts gave rise to a variety of changes including hypercondensation of chromatin, multinucleate cells, nuclear fragmentation and apoptosis. In addition, we observed destruction of cytoplasmic tubulin. These findings give further insight into the mechanism of toxicity of herbal remedies containing atractyloside.

Key Words: apoptosis • Callilepis laureola • hepatotoxicity • HuH-7 hepatocytes • traditional medicine • tubulin

Human & Experimental Toxicology, Vol. 21, No. 12, 643-647 (2002)
DOI: 10.1191/0960327102ht309oa


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