ABSTRACT
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Platycodi radix is widely used in traditional herbal medicine for bronchitis, asthma, pulmonary tuberculosis, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes. However, data on safety of Platycodi radix are insufficient. AIM OF THE STUDY: The present study was performed to evaluate the potential subchronic toxicity of Platycodi radix water extract through a 13-week repeated oral dose experiment in Sprague-Dawley rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty male and 40 female rats were randomly assigned to four experimental groups: three treatment groups receiving 300, 1000, and 3000 mg/kg/day of Platycodi radix water extract and a vehicle control group receiving sterile distilled water for 13 weeks. RESULTS: Repeated oral administration of the Platycodi radix water extract to rats resulted in an increased incidence of centrilobular hepatocellular hypertrophy in the liver, diffuse follicular cell hypertrophy in the thyroid gland, and squamous hyperplasia of the limiting ridge in the stomach at dose levels of ≥500 mg/kg/day of both genders. However, these findings are considered be adaptive non-adverse changes because these findings were observed without organ weight change or clinical pathology alterations. No treatment-related effects on clinical signs, body weight, food and water consumption, ophthalmic examination, urinalysis, hematology, serum biochemistry, necropsy findings, and organ weights were observed at any dose tested. CONCLUSION: Under the present experimental conditions, the no-observed-adverse-effect level of the Platycodi radix water extract was considered to be ≥ 3000 mg/kg/day in rats, and no target organs were identified.
Subject(s)
Plant Extracts/toxicity , Plant Roots/toxicity , Platycodon/toxicity , Toxicity Tests, Subchronic , Animals , Dose-Response Relationship, Drug , Female , Male , No-Observed-Adverse-Effect Level , Plant Extracts/isolation & purification , Plant Roots/chemistry , Platycodon/chemistry , Rats, Sprague-Dawley , Risk Assessment , Time FactorsABSTRACT
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Platycodon grandiflorus (Jacq.) A. DC., the sole species in genus Platycodon A. DC. (Campanulaceae) has a long history of use as a traditional herbal medicine for the treatments of cough, phlegm, sore throat, lung abscess, chest pain, dysuria, and dysentery. As a legal medicine and dietary supplement, it is also frequently used as an ingredient in health foods and vegetable dishes. The aim of this review is to provide up-to-date information on the botanical characterization and distribution, ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, pharmacology, and toxicity of Platycodon grandiflorus based on literature published in recent years. It will build a foundation for further study of the mechanism of action and the development of better therapeutic agents and healthy products from Platycodon grandiflorus. MATERIAL AND METHODS: All of the available information on Platycodon grandiflorus was collected via electronic search (using PubMed, SciFinder Scholar, CNKI, TPL (www.theplantlist.org), Google Scholar, Baidu Scholar, and Web of Science). RESULTS: A comprehensive analysis of the literature obtained through the above-mentioned sources confirmed that ethno-medical uses of Platycodon grandiflorus have been recorded in China, Japan, Mongolia, and Korea for thousands of years. A phytochemical investigation revealed that this product contains steroidal saponins, flavonoids, polyacetylenes, sterols, phenolics, and other bioactive compounds. Crude extracts and pure compounds isolated from Platycodon grandiflorus exhibited significant anti-inflammatory and immunostimulatory effects. They also showed valuable bioactive effects, such as anti-tumor, anti-oxidant, anti-diabetic, anti-obesity, hepatoprotective and cardiovascular system effects, among others. CONCLUSIONS: In light of its long traditional use and the modern phytochemical and pharmacological studies summarized here, Platycodon grandiflorus has been demonstrated to show a strong potential for therapeutic and health-maintaining uses. Both the extracts and chemical components isolated from the plant showed a wide range of biological activities. Thus, more studies on the pharmacological mechanisms of its main active compounds (e.g., platycodin D, D2) need to be conducted. In addition, as one of the most popular traditional herbal medicines, clinical studies of the main therapeutic aspects, toxicity and adverse effects of Platycodon grandiflorus will also undoubtedly be the focus of future investigation.
