Study on acute toxicity of Catharsius molossus / 中草药

ABSTRACT

Objective: To study the toxicity of Catharsius molossus and the toxic components in C. molossus. Methods: The toxicities of ethanol and water extracts from C. molossus were measured by acute toxicity experiments in mice. The toxic components in the water extract of C. molossus were isolated by organic solvent precipitation and gel permeation chromatography. Results: The mice were ig administered with the ethanol extract (≤ 34.8 g/kg), which indicated that the oral administration was safe. The water extract had the significant acute toxicity with the LD50 value of 19.01 g/kg, and the symptoms were listlessness, abnormal breathing, lack of exercise, and unresponsive to external acoustic stimulation. The purified water extract contained 13% of protein, and the molecular weight distributed from 1.5 × 103 to 3.0 × 104. The protein (molecular weight of 3.0 × 104) may be one of the toxic components of C. molossus. Conclusion: Herbalogical description is consistent with the modern research on the toxicity of C. molossus.