Abortifacient activity of Plumeria rubra (Linn) pod extract in female albino rats.

To evaluate the potential abortifacient activity of the aqueous, alcohol, ethyl acetate and chloroform extracts of P. rubra pod in female albino rats 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg body weight doses of each extract were administered from day 11 to 15 of pregnancy and animals were allowed to go full term. The phytochemical screening revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, simple phenolics, steroids, tannins and saponins. Clinical toxicity symptoms such as respiratory distress, salivation, weight loss, dull eyes, diarrhea, and change in the appearance of fur as well as mortality were not observed in the animals at any period of the experiment. All the four extracts of P. rubra pods exhibited abortifacient activity (8-100%). The extracts significantly reduced the number of live fetuses, whereas the resorption index and post implantation losses increased significantly. The % of abortion was found to be highest (100%) with 200 mg/kg dose of alcoholic extract of P. rubra pods.