Acute toxicity and the 28-day repeated dose study of a Siddha medicine Nuna Kadugu in rats

Abstract

BackgroundNuna Kadugu (NK), a Siddha medicine prepared from leaves and fruits of Morinda Pubescens, used for the treatment of various skin diseases. Though NK has been widely used for several decades, no scientific report was available on its safety. Present study was undertaken to demonstrate the oral toxicity of NK in Sprague Dawley rats.MethodsAcute and 28-day repeated oral toxicity studies were performed following OECD test guidelines 423 and 407, respectively, with minor modifications. In acute oral toxicity study, NK was administered at 2000mg/kg b.wt., p.o and animals were observed for toxic signs at 0, 0.5, 1, 4, 24 h and for next 14 days. Gross pathology was performed at the end of the study. In repeated dose, the 28- day oral toxicity study, NK was administered at 300, 600 and 900 mg/kg b.wt./p.o/day. Two satellite groups (control and high dose) were also maintained to determine the delayed onset toxicity of NK. Animals were observed for mortality, morbidity, body weight changes, feed and water intake. Haematology, clinical biochemistry, electrolytes, gross pathology, relative organ weight and histopathological examination were performed.ResultsIn acute toxicity study, no treatment related death or toxic signs were observed with NK administration. In the repeated dose study, no significant differences in body weight changes, food / water intake, haematology, clinical biochemistry and electrolytes content were observed between control and NK groups. No gross pathological findings and difference in relative organ weights were observed between control and NK treated rats. Histopathological examination revealed no abnormalities with NK treatment.ConclusionAcute study reveals that the LD50 of NK is greater than 2000mg/kg, b.wt. in fasted female rats and can be classified as Category 5. 28-day repeated oral toxicity demonstrates that the No Observed Adverse Effect Level of NK is greater than 900 mg/kg b.wt./day, p.o in rats. There were no delayed effects in NK satellite group. In conclusion, NK was found to be non-toxic in the tested doses and experimental conditions.

Anti‐inflammatory and anti‐arthritic effects of pentacyclic triterpenoids maslinic acid through NF‐κB inactivation

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Acute and sub-chronic oral toxicity studies of methanol extract of <i>Clinacanthus nutans</i> in mice

“…The histopathological studies serve as a supportive evidence for haematological and biochemical analysis (Ramaswamy et al, 2012). This study showed that the selected organs obtained from both treated animals and controls showed normal architecture, suggesting that there were no detrimental changes or morphological disturbances caused by daily oral administration of the MECN.…”

Acute and sub-acute oral toxicity of Dracaena cinnabari resin methanol extract in rats

“…Therefore, it can be concluded that DC resin methanol extract is tolerated up to 2000 mg/kg body weight when administered at a single dose. In a like manner, a study performed by R Ramaswamy, N Prathyusha, R Saranya, H Sumathy, K Mohanavalli, R Priya, J Venkhatesh, C Babu, K Manickavasakam and S Thanikachalam [ 28 ] using Nuna Kadugu (a Siddha medicine prepared from leaves and fruits of Morinda Pubescens) revealed that Nuna Kadugu can be classified under category-5 when administered at single dose 2000 mg/kg in accordance with Globally Harmonised System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals, and this provides a direct relevance for protecting human and animal health.…”

“…The SD rats were randomly divided into six groups of 10 rats each ( n = 10/group, 5 males and 5 females) as mentioned elsewhere [ 28 ]. Four groups were administered daily with DC resin methanol extract at different concentration dissolved in 10% DMSO and two groups administered with the vehicle by using oral gavage.…”