"Safety Assessment for Mannuronic and Guluronic Acids, as Alginate Residues in Toxicology Studies"

Abstract

Objective: The present study aims to search the safety assessment for Mannuronic and Guluronic acids as Alginate residues in toxicology examinations. Concerning the fact that Alginate is a safe agent and is vastly used in the food industry, many investigations were conducted to evaluate the safety property of Mannuronic(M) and Guluronic (G) acids as the natural uronic acids and Alginate residues.Material and Method: In the major studies, for the acute toxicity assessment, the BALB/c mice and Wistar rats received orally five different single doses of (M) in one study and (G) in another study and were then kept under observation for 14 days. In the chronic study, the animals were divided into four groups and treated orally once daily with (M) and/or (G) at dose levels of 0, 50, 250, and 1250 mg/kg body weight for at least 63 and 90 days. The mortality, clinical signs, biochemical and hematological parameters, body weight changes, gross findings, organ weights, and histopathological determinations were monitored during this evaluation. In the minor studies, the safety property of (M) and (G) was assessed indirectly using in vitro and in vivo examinations. Results:In these studies, the results of acute toxicity revealed that the LD50 for Mannuronic and Guluronic acids are 4600 and 4800 mg/kg, respectively. The findings of these investigations showed no mortality, morbidity, or abnormality in the chronic study of any animal's body weight, organ weight, or necropsy. Moreover, the accumulated data showed no significant difference in these animals' biochemical, hematological, and histopathological determinants. Conclusions:The results of toxicology studies show that Mannuronic acid and Guluronic acid have high safety when administered orally in animals.