Acute and sub-acute oral toxicity studies of the aqueous extract from radix, radix with cortex and cortex of Psammosilene tunicoides in mice and rats.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Psammosilene tunicoides is one of the important ingredients of a famous Chinese traditional medicine formulation "Yunnan Baiyao". Also, this plant is commonly used as an anodyne and hemostatic agent in southwest China. Currently, little toxicological information is available on its safety following prolonged use. AIM OF THE STUDY: In this study, we sought to evaluate the toxicity of the three different parts of Psammosilene tunicoides: Psammosilenes Radix (PR), Psammosilenes Radix with Cortex (PRC) and Psammosilenes Cortex (PC) by acute and sub-acute toxicity studies. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In the acute toxicity study, mice were orally administrated with different doses of PR, PRC and PC. General behavior and mortality were observed up to 14 days. In sub-acute toxicity study, these aqueous extracts were given orally as a single administration to rats at doses of 0.3, 0.6 and 1.2g/kg/day, respectively, for 28 days. General behavior, body weight, biochemical, hematological, organ coefficients and pathological morphology parameters were detected. RESULTS: In acute study, single oral administration of the aqueous extract of PR, PRC and PC caused dose-dependent general behavior adverse effects and mortality. The LD50 values of PR, PRC and PC were 4.64g/kg, 4.85g/kg and 6.40g/kg, respectively. In sub-acute study, the administration of the extract of PR, PRC and PC during 28 days at all doses reduced spontaneous activities with both genders. Occasional nasal secretion with blood at high doses (1.2g/kg) of PR, PRC and PC were observed. Daily single oral administration provoked varying degrees of growth retardation in female rats. The relative heart and spleen weight in the female rats were reduced after the administration. On the hematological and biochemical analyses, the administration of the extract of PR, PRC and PC during 28 days mainly caused variation of indexes in female rats. Histopathological analysis has shown vascular congestion in heart, thickened alveolar wall and emphysema in lung, and vascular congestion in kidney of rats after sub-acute oral administrations. CONCLUSIONS: As shown in the results, Psammosilene tunicoides has a toxic potential in acute and sub-acute oral administrations. However, there is no direct relationship between toxicity and the cortex. Daily oral administration of three different parts from Psammosilene tunicoides (PR, PRC and PC) may cause damages to heart, lung and kidney in rats. Thus these extracts should be used with caution.

Acute and sub-chronic toxicity of an aqueous extract of the leaves of Herniaria glabra in rodents.

AIM OF THE STUDY: The present investigation was carried out to evaluate the safety of an aqueous extract of Herniaria glabra (caryophyllaceae) (HG) plant by determining its potential toxicity after acute and sub-chronic administration in rodents. MATERIALS AND METHODS: For the acute study, a lyophilized aqueous extract of HG plant was administered to adult IOPS OFA mice in single doses of 5-14.5 g/kg given by gavage. General behavior adverse effects and mortality were determined for up to 14 days. In the sub-chronic dose study, the HG-extract was administered orally at doses of 1, 2 and 4 g/kg daily for 90 days to Wistar rats. Selected biochemical and hematological parameters were determined after 30 and 60 days, and then at the end of 90 days of daily administration. RESULTS: In the acute study in mice, the crude aqueous extract of HG plant caused dose-dependent general behavior adverse effects and mortality. The no-observed adverse effect levels (NOAEL) of the HG extract was 5 g/kg and the lowest-observed adverse effect levels (LOAEL) was 5.5 g/kg. Mortality increased with increasing doses: the calculated LD50 was 8.50 +/- 0.42 g/kg in mice. In the sub-chronic study in rats, daily oral administration of the crude HG extract for up to 90 days resulted in a significant attenuation of the normal increase in the body weight. At the highest dose, the HG-extract caused a significant increase in erythrocytes, leukocytes (WBC), platelets, and eosinophils, but it had no effect on the differential WBC counts (lymphocytes, monocytes, neutrophils and basophils). Only at the highest dose, the HG-extract caused a significant increase in serum levels of the liver enzymes, alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase, as well as serum creatinine, indicating toxic effect of the high dose of the extract on the liver and kidney. The organ toxicity was confirmed by histopathological examination, which showed centrolobular sinusoidal congestion, disruption of the central vein and hepatocellular necrosis in the liver, and interstitial and intraglomerular congestion, tubular atrophy, and inflammation in the kidney. This study also revealed the hypoglycemic activity of the HG-extract in normoglycemic rats. The suppression of the normal weight gain and the hypoglycemic action of HG-extract should be investigated further for possible therapeutic implications. CONCLUSIONS: Because of the relatively high NOAEL values in the acute study in mice, and lack of mortality or clinically significant changes in the biological (except for hypoglycemia) and hematological parameters in rats after 90 days of daily dosing, it may be concluded that the HG extract does not appear to have significant toxicity (except at high doses). In view of the doses consumed empirically in traditional medicine in Morocco, there is a wide margin of safety for the therapeutic use of Herniaria glabra.

Toxic effect of Herniaria cinerea DC. on the stomach, intestine, lung, and kidney of rats.

The toxic effect of the butanolic extract of Herniaria cinerea DC., a plant used traditionally to cure renal stones, has been tested by oral administration on Wistar male rats. The extract causes bloody diarrhea and respiratory troubles. The study of the histopathological lesions in the stomach, intestine, lung, and kidney revealed an ulcerous effect on the digestive tract and alveolar destruction. In the kidney, we observed total tubular necrosis with hemorrhage.