Evaluation of the toxicity and safety of the antioxidant beverage effective microorganisms-X (EM-X) in animal models.

The acute and chronic toxicity tests and the mutagenic test of the extracts from the fermentation of plants with effective microorganisms (EM-X) were performed in the mouse and the rat. In acute toxicity test, mice were orally treated three times per day with 20-fold of concentrated EM-X for 7 days. For chronic toxicity test, the rats were orally treated with original EM-X once a day for 90 days at the dosages of 180, 120 or 60ml/kg. At the levels tested EM-X did not lead to significant changes in food consumption, body weight, behaviors and stools. Hematological assays on red blood, white blood cell, hemoglobin, platelets, lymphocyte, granulocyte, middle cell and coagulation time and the biochemical assays on aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, blood urea nitrogen, total protein, albumin, glucose, total bilirubin, creatinine and total cholesterol did not show abnormal changes. The histological inspection of principal organs of the heart, liver, spleen, lung and kidney did not show significant pathological changes. The delaying toxic reactions were detected 2 weeks after administration of EM-X was stopped. The mutagenic test showed that EM-X did not cause mutagenesis and tests of micronucleus of bone marrow cell and sperm shape abnormality upon EM-X were negative. The maximal tolerance dose of EM-X was calculated to be 1800ml/kg BW in the mouse and rat. Thus, oral administration of EM-X does not present acute and chronic toxicity and mutagenic effects in the animals.

Assessment of the ability of the antioxidant cocktail-derived from fermentation of plants with effective microorganisms (EM-X) to modulate oxidative damage in the kidney and liver of rats in vivo: studies upon the profile of poly- and mono-unsaturated fatty acids.

The antioxidant cocktail EM-X derived from ferment of unpolished rice, papaya and sea weeds with effective microorganisms (EM) of lactic acid bacteria, yeast, and photosynthetic bacteria is widely available in South-East Asia. Oral administration of a EM-X to rats for 7 days inhibited the ferric-nitrilotriacetic acid (Fe-NTA)-dependent oxidation of fatty acids with protections directed towards docosahexanoic, arachidonic, docosapentanenoic acids, oleic, linoleic and eicosadieonoic acids in the liver and kidney. But only the protections of oxidation to docosahexanoic, arachidonic acid in the kidney were statistically significant. Treatment of rats with EM-X prior to the intraperitoneal administration of Fe-NTA led to a reduction in the overall levels of conjugated dienes (CD) measured in the kidney by 27% and in the liver by 19% suggesting inhibition of lipid peroxidation in these organs. The levels of glutathione and alpha-tocopherol were largely unaffected suggesting that the protection by the regular strength of EM-X was confined to the inhibition of lipid peroxidation in vivo, a point dependent on the concentrations of bioactive flavonoids.