Toxicity comparison between combination of Asteris Radix with Farfarae Flos and leaves of Tussilago farfara / 中草药

ABSTRACT

Objective: To compare the toxicity of two kinds of Ziwansan, which were prepared by Asteris Radix with Farfarae Flos (FF) and the leaves of Tussilago farfara (FL), respectively, The results will provide scientific basis for the utilization of leaves of T. farfarae. Methods: The FF and FL were in combination ratio of 11 with Asteris Radix, respectively, and given to mice at a dose of 40 g/kg for 14 d. The drug toxicology was evaluated by serum biochemical indicators and histopathological examination, as well as 1H-NMR based metabonomic approach. Results: The mice liver showed obvious damage as revealed by serum biochemical indicators and histopathological examination. Totally 15 biomarkers related to liver toxicity were determined by multivariate statistics and KEGG metabolic pathway analysis. By analyzing the distance between drug treated groups and blank group in scatter plots and the level changes of hepatoxicity related biomarkers, it was found that Ziwansan prepared by FF and FL showed different toxic effects on mice metabolome. However, there was no evidence that Ziwansan made from FL showed stronger toxicity than that made from FF. Conclusion: These results suggest that FL and FF show equivalent toxicity in Ziwansan, which lays the foundation for the utilization of leaves of T. farfara.