School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, 310053, Zhejiang, China.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2021 Jun 12;273:114005. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2021.114005. Epub 2021 Mar 8.
Cuscuta chinensis Lam. (Convolvulaceae) had received growing attention as a traditional medicinal herb widely used for treating female impotence, abortion, male reproductive system disease and cardiovascular diseases, respectively.
The present study investigated the acute and sub-acute toxicities of C. chinensis water extract (CLW) in the ICR mice model.
Various doses of CLW (1250, 2500, and 5000 mg/kg) were administered consecutively for 14 days to evaluate the acute toxicity level with examine mortality, general behavior, body weight, food and water intake of the mice. At the end of treatmet, macroscopic observation of the skin and major internal organs in the abdominal part and organ coefficients were taken. The same doses were administered daily for 28 days to determine the sub-acute toxicity level with examine mortality, general behavior, body weight, food and water intake of the mice. At the end of treatmet, macroscopical examination of organs, tissues, cavities, organ coefficients, pathology, hematological and biochemical parameters were carried out.
The acute toxicity test results revealed an LD of over 5000 mg/kg for CLW. Similarly, no CLW-related mortality and severe toxicities were experienced in the sub-acute study. However, the treatment of CLW had a reducing effect on body weight of both male and female mice, and feed intake in female mice at the all tested doses (1250, 2500 and 5000 mg/kg). Moreover, significant effects in organ coefficients of brain, liver, lung, testis and thymus became apparent due to CLW mainly at the 2500 and 5000 mg/kg. The hematological analysis result showed a significant decrease in platelets, lymphocytes, and hematocrit. In contrast, a significant increase in the neutrophils was observed in the CLW treated groups (2500 and 5000 mg/kg). Biochemical test results showed a significant increase in aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and alkaline phosphatase levels while decreasing albumin, total cholesterol and triglyceride levels after treatment of CLW mostly at the doses of 2500 and 5000 mg/kg. Mild liver toxicity in both sexes treated with 5000 mg/kg of CLW was recorded in the histopathological analysis.
Overall, our results suggested that CLW is safe at its dose lower than 1250 mg/kg, although liver toxicity from daily use may be a matter of concern.
菟丝子（旋花科）作为一种传统草药，因其具有治疗女性不孕、堕胎、男性生殖系统疾病和心血管疾病的功效而备受关注。
本研究旨在评估菟丝子水提取物（CLW）在 ICR 小鼠模型中的急性和亚急性毒性。
连续 14 天给予不同剂量的 CLW（1250、2500 和 5000mg/kg），以评估急性毒性水平，观察死亡率、一般行为、体重、摄食量和饮水量的变化。治疗结束时，观察腹部皮肤和主要内脏器官的大体形态，并计算器官系数。同样剂量连续给药 28 天，以评估亚急性毒性水平，观察死亡率、一般行为、体重、摄食量和饮水量的变化。治疗结束时，对各器官、组织、腔室、器官系数、病理学、血液学和血液生化参数进行宏观检查。
急性毒性试验结果表明，CLW 的 LD 大于 5000mg/kg。同样，在亚急性研究中，CLW 未引起任何与死亡率和严重毒性相关的变化。然而，CLW 处理会降低雌雄小鼠的体重，且各剂量（1250、2500 和 5000mg/kg）均会降低雌性小鼠的摄食量。此外，CLW 主要在 2500 和 5000mg/kg 时，对脑、肝、肺、睾丸和胸腺的器官系数有显著影响。血液分析结果表明，血小板、淋巴细胞和红细胞压积显著减少，而中性粒细胞显著增加。相反，在 CLW 处理组（2500 和 5000mg/kg）中，天门冬氨酸氨基转移酶、丙氨酸氨基转移酶和碱性磷酸酶水平显著升高，而白蛋白、总胆固醇和甘油三酯水平显著降低。在组织病理学分析中，5000mg/kg CLW 处理的雌雄小鼠均出现轻度肝毒性。
总体而言，我们的结果表明，CLW 在低于 1250mg/kg 的剂量下是安全的，尽管长期使用可能会引起肝毒性。
