Cassia angustifolia extract is not hepatotoxic in an in vitro and in vivo study.

BACKGROUND: Cassia angustifolia L. (senna) is traditionally used as a laxative. Its major components are sennosides that are responsible for the laxative effect. Senna is recommended for the short-term treatment of acute constipation. Nevertheless people use its preparations as self-medication, often for long periods, to treat chronic constipation thus exposing themselves to adverse reactions. Most reactions were associated with hepatotoxicity. AIMS: The present study was aimed to evaluate the toxicity of a C. angustifolia leafextract (standardized at 60% of sennosides) on rat liver cells and the long-term effects on liver functions, in Wistar rats. METHODS: Cytotoxicity was assessed in a buffalo normal rat liver cell line (BRL-3A) by the trypan blue assay and the 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide reduction test. In vivo effects were observed after oral administration of the extract for 4 or 8 weeks at doses of 12 and 58 mg/kg/day. At the end of treatment, animals were sacrificed, the postmortem examination was performed and serum was used for biochemical analysis. Liver samples were used for histomorphological and immunohistochemical examination along with the determination of oxidative stress parameters. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: In BRL-3A cells, the extract was cytotoxic at concentrations that appear largely higher than those attainable in humans. In Wistar rats, the extract did not induce any significant change in all of the parameters tested. In summary, the present study indicates a lack of hepatotoxicity of senna at doses higher than those generally used in humans.

Pharmacological and phytochemical study on a Sisymbrium officinale Scop. extract.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: The aerial parts of Sisymbrium officinale Scop. are commonly used to treat airway ailments, moreover in antiquity the herbal drug was reputed to possess anticancer properties. The results obtained in present work support the traditional use and the properties ascribed to Sisymbrium officinale. AIM OF THE STUDY: In order to give a scientific basis to the traditional uses of Sisymbrium officinale, this study was aimed to evaluate in vitro the myorelaxant activity, the antimicrobial properties and the antimutagenic effect of an aqueous dry extract of the aerial parts of the plant. A phytochemical characterization of the extract was also performed. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The myorelaxant activity was studied against the contractions induced by carbachol, histamine and leukotriene C(4), in isolated guinea-pig trachea. The antimicrobial activity was tested against six bacteria and one yeast. The Ames test, performed by the preincubation method, was used to study the antimutagenic activity of the extract by its capability to inhibit the mutagenic effect of 2-nitrofluorene, sodium azide, methyl methanesulfonate and 2-aminoanthracene, in Salmonella typhimurium TA98, Salmonella typhimurium TA100 and Escherichia coli WP2uvrA strains. The chemical composition of the extract was analyzed by TLC and HPLC. RESULTS: Sisymbrium officinale showed to reduce the chemically-induced contractions of isolated guinea-pig trachea with major potency against leukotriene C(4) and histamine. The extract did not show any antibacterial activity. The Ames test showed a strong antimutagenic activity against 2-aminoanthracene, in Escherichia coli WP2uvrA and in Salmonella typhimurium TA98 strains. The phytochemical study highlighted the presence of putranjivine, the glucosinolate marker of Sisymbrium officinale, and of proline. CONCLUSIONS: The myorelaxant activity of Sisymbrium officinale offers a scientific basis to its use in traditional medicine. The strong antimutagenic effect suggests further studies to evaluate its possible chemopreventive activity.

Antimutagenic activity of a secoisopimarane diterpenoid from Salvia cinnabarina M. Martens et Galeotti in the bacterial reverse mutation assay.

The effects of 3,4-secoisopimar-4(18),7,15-trien-3-oic acid, a diterpenoid isolated from Salvia cinnabarina, were evaluated in the Ames test on Salmonella typhimurium TA98 and TA100 and on Escherichia coli WP2uvrA, in presence and in absence of the metabolic activation system. The secoisopimarane diterpenoid not only showed to be devoid of mutagenic activity, but significantly inhibited the effect of some known mutagens, in all strains tested. The reduction of the number of chemically-induced revertant colonies reached the value of 92.2% against 2-aminoanthracene, 59.6% against 2-nitrofluorene, 50.9% against sodium azide and 39.9% against methyl methane sulfonate. It is hypothesized that the secoisopimarane diterpenoid acts by aspecific mechanisms, by alterating the cell permeability thus blocking the mutagen adsorption across the bacterial membrane, or by chemical or enzymatic inhibition of the mutagens.

Effects of Cimicifuga racemosa extract on liver morphology and hepatic function indices.

UNLABELLED: Cimicifuga racemosa (black cohosh) is a herbaceous perennial plant, that has been traditionally used for a variety of ailments (dyspepsia, climacteric complaints, muscular rheumatisms, menstrual cramps). From laboratory and clinical studies, black cohosh seems to have a relatively good safety profile, even if a number of case reports of hepatotoxicity were a matter of recent concern. AIM: A number of case reports indicated that C. racemosa could induce hepatotoxicity. We evaluated the effects of black cohosh extract on liver morphology, and on levels of various hepatic function indices in rats. METHODS: Wistar rats received 300mg/kg/day of C. racemosa extract by gavage, for 30 days. Biochemical analysis of serum was conducted by an automated, random-access clinical chemistry analyzer. Liver samples were used for hystomorphological and immunohistochemical examination, for the detection of apoptosis (TUNEL assay), and for the determination of GSH level (spectrophotometrical analysis). RESULTS: C. racemosa extract does not affect liver morphology and hepatic function indices, in rats. CONCLUSIONS: On the basis of experimental data, the use of 300mg/kg/day of black cohosh appears quite safe in rats. Nevertheless, in humans the safety of C. racemosa should be further monitored, in terms of patient-related factors.