AUTHOR=Liu Jia , Ping Xin , Sun Shu-jie , Yang Jiali , Lu Ye , Pei Lin 

TITLE=Safety assessment of Acori Tatarinowii Rhizoma: acute and subacute oral toxicity

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Pharmacology

VOLUME=15

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pharmacology/articles/10.3389/fphar.2024.1377876

DOI=10.3389/fphar.2024.1377876

ISSN=1663-9812

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Introduction:</bold> Acori Tatarinowii Rhizoma (ATR) is a well-known traditional Chinese medicine that is used for treating neuropathic diseases. However, there is little information about the safety of ATR.</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> The present study evaluated the acute and subacute oral toxicity of a water extract of ATR in Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) mice. In acute trials, a single administration of extract at a dose 5,000 mg/kg body weight led to no clinical signs of toxicity or mortality, indicating that the lethal dose (LD50) exceeded 5,000 mg/kg. A subacute toxicity test was done using daily doses of 1,250, 2,500, and 5,000 mg/kg of the ATR extract for 28 days, which did not show any adverse clinical symptoms or mortality. However, the male renal organ index and urea level in mice given 5,000 mg/kg was obviously abnormal, which was consistent with pathological results and suggested that this dose might cause kidney injury.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> Doses of ATR lower than 2,500 mg/kg could be regarded as safe, although the potential cumulative effects of long-term use of high doses of ATR need to be considered.</p><p><bold>Discussion:</bold> The study highlights the function of ATR in reducing blood lipids and provides a new idea for its widespread clinical use in the future.</p>