ABSTRACT
Aim of the study: The present study was car- ried out to evaluate the safety of a hipolipidaemic herbal extract by determining its potential toxicity after chronic administration in rats.Materials and Methods: The hipolipidaemic herbal extract was administered orally at doses of 50, 150 mg/kg daily for 90 days to rats. Bio- chemical and morphological parameters were determined after 90 days of daily administration. Results: In the chronic study in rats, daily oral administration of the extract for up to 90 days did not result in death or significant changes in the biological, biochemical and morphological parameters. Conclusions: The results showed that the hypolipidaemic herbal extract had no toxicity in oral chronic administration and indicate that the herbal formula could be considered safe for oral medication. Key words: Herbal hypolipidaemic extract, chronic toxicity. Introduction In the present time, there has been a great in- crease in the use of herbal remedies in the treat- ment of diseases [1, 2]. Many traditional plants with therapeutic lipid-lowering properties are claimed to be useful in the treatment of hyperlipi- demia and associated pathologies [3, 4, 5]. The hipolipidaemic herbal composition (extract) con- sists of ten herbs: fruits of Rosa canina L., Cra- taegus sanguinea Pall., Elettaria cardamonum L.and Malus baccata L., roots and rhizomae of Glycyrrhiza glabra L., Zingiber officnale, såminà Lini usitatissimi L., folia Îrthosiphoni staminei Benth. and other. Chronic toxicity study of this hipolipidaemic herbal extract was performed in rats in order to evaluate the safety. Material and methods Wistar rats of both sexes aged 1-1.5 months toxicity assessment. Animals were divided into 3 groups (I–III) of 10 each (5 females and 5 males). The extract, dissolved in distilled water, was ad- ministered by daily oral for 90 days, to rats of groups II-III (doses of 50, 150 mg/kg, respec- tively). I group was control (distillate water). The animals were observed for signs of toxicity and mortality throughout the experimental period. The body weigh were recorded weekly. At the end of the 90-day experiment, rats of each group were sacrificed by decapitation under anaesthe- sia (sodium thiopental 50 mg/kg). Blood was col- lected for biochemical studies respectively. The organs (brain, heart, lung, liver, spleen, kidneys) were weighted and compared with the value of control. Organ samples (kidney, pancreas, lung and liver) were fixed in 10% formalin for histo- pathological examination.