West China School of Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
National Chengdu Center for Safety Evaluation of Drugs, Chengdu, China.
Int J Exp Pathol. 2017 Oct;98(5):248-259. doi: 10.1111/iep.12242.
Aloe vera is a widely used natural herb from which many sorts of commercial products have been derived using different preparation technologies. Aloe whole-leaf powder is one of the most popular subtypes. The long-term impact of aloe products has already been reported; however, there have been few studies about short-term exposure, and especially about the relative impact of Aloe vera whole-leaf freeze-dried powder (AWFP). To provide more toxicological data and to document the early changes induced by AWFP, in this study 120 SD rats were divided into four groups (control and 400/1200/2000 mg/kg treatment groups) and were administered AWFP once daily by oral gavage for 28 consecutive days, followed by a two week recovery phase. The results showed that AWFP could induce soft/loose changes in faeces. Significantly decreased white blood cell (WBC) counts, associated with reduced lymphocyte counts were also noted. The relative organ weight, including both organ-to-body weight ratio and organ-to-brain weight ratio of kidneys, was significantly increased in 2000 mg/kg compared with that in controls. Histopathologically, pigmentation in the kidneys and increased mucosal thickness in colon were also noted in a dose response groups. Other changes observed in the study were not considered to be treatment related, and 400 mg/kg was considered as the no-observed-adverse-effect level. The study provided clear evidence of treatment-related changes with a short-term exposure to AWFP. This is also the first report of the early colon morphologic changes associated with stool changes noted previously in-life phase, providing additional toxicity data which will contribute to our understanding about the short-term usage of AWFP as a remedy.
库拉索芦荟是一种广泛使用的天然草药，已采用不同的制备技术从中开发出多种商业产品。芦荟全叶粉是最受欢迎的亚型之一。芦荟产品的长期影响已经有报道；然而，关于短期暴露的研究较少，特别是关于库拉索芦荟全叶冻干粉（AWFP）的相对影响的研究较少。为了提供更多的毒理学数据，并记录 AWFP 诱导的早期变化，在这项研究中，将 120 只 SD 大鼠分为四组（对照组和 400/1200/2000mg/kg 治疗组），每天通过口服灌胃给予 AWFP 一次，连续 28 天，随后进行两周恢复期。结果表明，AWFP 可导致粪便变软/变稀。还观察到白细胞（WBC）计数显著下降，与淋巴细胞计数减少有关。与对照组相比，2000mg/kg 组的肾脏相对器官重量（包括器官与体重比和器官与脑重比）显著增加。组织病理学检查还发现，在剂量反应组中，肾脏有色素沉着，结肠黏膜增厚。研究中观察到的其他变化被认为与治疗无关，400mg/kg 被认为是无观察到不良效应水平。该研究提供了明确的证据，表明短期接触 AWFP 会导致与治疗相关的变化。这也是首次报道与以前在生命阶段观察到的粪便变化相关的早期结肠形态变化的研究，提供了额外的毒性数据，有助于我们了解短期使用 AWFP 作为药物的情况。
