Safety profile determination of Benincasa hispida (Thunb.) cogn. Leaves extracts using toxicological and histopathological screening

Abstract

Background: Benincasa hispida (Thunb.) cogn. commonly known as Winter gourd, is a very valuable herb belonging to the family Cucurbitaceae used in Chinese Traditional Medicine. B. Hispida is used in Chinese medicine for treating many conditions including urinary, mucolytic, and antipyretic problems. Many developing and developed countries have a common old myth about herbal medicines are known to be safe, but that is not totally correct. Materials and methods: This stud focuses on the toxicological assessment of B. Hispida leaves. The OECD guideline 423 was used to conduct the acute oral toxicity test of BHELE. The limit test for BHELE at 2000 mg/kg and the behavioral study up to 14-days were conducted. BHELE at 500 mg/kg b. w. daily, 250 mg/kg b. w. daily, and 125 mg/kg b. w. per day were given to Wistar Rats for 28 days consecutively in a subacute oral toxicity test. Results: The limit dose (2000 mg/kg body weight) was not toxic and did not cause any mortality. There was no difference in body weight, relative organ weights, or the amount of water and food consumed during subacute oral toxicology study. The results of the hematological and serum biochemical analysis, as well as urine analyses revealed that BHELE consumption was not toxic. Conclusion: According to our research, BHELE is safe and non-toxic for repeated oral administration at doses up to 500 mg/kg b. w.t.

Keywords

• Antioxidants
• Mucolytic
• BHELE
• OECD
• Mortality