Single-dose oral acute toxicity and mutagenic effects of methanol extracts of Cirsium japonicum

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate safety on Cirsium japonicum extracts containing flavones by examining acute oral toxicity, bacterial reverse mutation and the chromosome aberration test. Mutagenicity of extracts were evaluated by a bacterial reverse mutation assay using Salmonella typhimurium TA98, TA100, TA102, TA1535, TA1537 and Escherichia coli (WP2uvrA) with and without metabolic activation. An in vitro chromosome aberration test in Chinese hamster lung cells was conducted at the concentrations of 0, 1,250, 2,500 and 5,000μg/mL. No significant adverse effects on body weight, mortality and gross findings were observed for 15 days after a single dose (2,000mg of extracts/kg body weight) of administration. In the bacterial reverse mutation assay, C. japonicum extracts ranging from 156 to 5,000μg/plate did not induce base-pair substitution or frame shift. Any significant increase in structural aberration as well as reduction of cell cycle progression was not observed in the chromosome. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.