A 90-day subchronic toxicological assessment of dioscin, a natural steroid saponin, in Sprague-Dawley rats.

Abstract

Dioscin is the major active compound in many traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs), while safety evaluation of this natural product has not yet been investigated. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the 90-day subchronic toxicity of dioscin in rats. The rats were divided into four groups and dioscin was administered orally at doses of 0, 75, 150 and 300 mg/kg/day, respectively. The toxicity of dioscin was evaluated based on clinical observations, ophthalmic examination, body weight, food and water consumption, urinalysis, hematology, clinical biochemistry and pathology. The results showed that dioscin had no subchronic toxicity in female rats and had slight subchronic toxicity in male rats. However, male rats in the 300 mg/kg/day group showed slight gastro-intestinal tract distension during the treatment period and hemolytic anemia in the hematology assessment. Compared with the control group, body weight gain was significantly decreased in male rats. Other significant changes were not associated with dioscin in the male and female groups. In conclusion, the no-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) and the lowest-observed-adverse-effect level (LOAEL) of dioscin are estimated to be 300 mg/kg/day for female and male rats, respectively. Our work provides useful data for further research and new drug exploration of dioscin.

• Authors: Tingting Xu, Shuai Zhang, Lingli Zheng, Lianhong Yin, Lina Xu, Jinyong Peng
• Journal: Food and chemical toxicology : an international journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association (Food Chem Toxicol) Vol. 50 Issue 5 Pg. 1279-87 (May 2012) ISSN: 1873-6351 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 22386816 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Chemical References

• dioscin
• Diosgenin

Topics

• Animals
• Body Weight (drug effects)
• Diosgenin (analogs & derivatives, toxicity)
• Drinking Behavior (drug effects)
• Feeding Behavior (drug effects)
• Female
• Male
• Organ Size (drug effects)
• Rats
• Rats, Sprague-Dawley