Acute and subacute toxicity of Cassia occidentalis L. stem and leaf in Wistar rats

作者：Silva Mirtes G B; Aragao Ticiana P; Vasconcelos Carlos F B; Ferreira Pablo A; Andrade Bruno A; Costa Igor M A; Costa Silva Joao H; Wanderley Almir G; Lafayette Simone S L^*

来源：Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 2011, 136(2): 341-346.

DOI：10.1016/j.jep.2011.04.070

• Cassia occidentalis L.
• Leguminosae
• Pre-clinical study
• Acute toxicity
• Subacute toxicity
• Biochemical and hematological parameters

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Cassia occidentalis L. (syn. Senna occidentalis; Leguminosae) has been used as natural medicine in rainforests and tropical regions as laxative, analgesic, febrifuge, diuretic, hepatoprotective, vermifuge and colagogo. Herein, we performed a pre-clinical safety evaluation of hydroalcoholic extract of Cassia occidentalis stem and leaf in male and female Wistar rats.
Materials and methods: In acute toxicity tests, four groups of rats (n = 5/group/sex) were orally treated with doses of 0.625, 1.25, 2.5 and 5.0 g/kg and general behavior, adverse effects and mortality were recorded for up to 14 days. In subacute toxicity assays, animals received Cassia occidentalis by gavage at the doses of 0.10, 0.50 or 2.5 g/kg/day (n = 10/group/sex) for 30 days and biochemical, hematological and morphological parameters were determined.
Results: Cassia occidentalis did not produce any hazardous symptoms or death in the acute toxicity test, showing a LD(50) higher than 5 g/kg. Subacute treatment with Cassia occidentalis failed to change body weight gain, food and water consumption and hematological and biochemical profiles. In addition, no changes in macroscopical and microscopical aspect of organs were observed in the animals.
Conclusions: Our results showed that acute or subacute administration of Cassia occidentalis is not toxic in male and female Wistar rats, suggesting a safety use by humans.

• 出版日期2011-6-22