Safety profile of tuber extract: a combined acute toxicity and genotoxicity study.

INTRODUCTION

has been widely known for consumption as food due to its medicinal properties. The present study evaluated the safety of tuber aqueous extract through single-dose toxicity and genotoxicity assessments.

METHODS

An acute oral toxicity study was conducted with single oral doses of 5, 50, 300, and 2000 mg/kg body weight aqueous extract in respective groups. The bacterial reverse mutation test was performed on strains TA100, TA1535, TA98, TA1537, and strain WP2uvrA using the pre-incubation method, both in the presence and absence of an exogenous metabolic activation system (S9). An micronucleus assay was carried out on V79B cells, a fibroblast-like cells. The cells were treated with aqueous extract at concentrations of 1.25, 2.5, and 5 mg/ml, along with positive or negative controls (distilled water). The cells were stained with acridine orange, observed under a fluorescence microscope, and scored for micronuclei.

RESULTS

Our findings showed the administration of aqueous extract did not cause any adverse effects up to 2000 mg/kg body weight. Additionally, aqueous extract did not induce mutagenicity in tested and tester strains and did not increase revertant colonies at concentrations up to 5000 μg/plate. No significant changes were observed in the number of micronucleated cells compared to the untreated group.

DISCUSSION

aqueous extract is not toxic in both acute toxicity and genotoxicity studies. However, further investigations are needed for preclinical studies on repeated administration and genotoxicity assays.