Acute and subchronic oral toxicity studies of hydrogenated curcuminoid formulation 'CuroWhite' in rats

Safety Evaluation of Oleoresin-Based Turmeric Formulation: Assessment of Genotoxicity and Acute and Subchronic Oral Toxicity

Turmeric rhizome (Curcuma longa L.) has been used without concern for safety as a culinary spice and traditional medicine under the ancient Ayurvedic medicinal system of India dating back nearly 4000 years. This preclinical safety evaluation was done to determine the safety of an oleoresin-based turmeric extract (CURCUGEN®). Guidelines from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) directed the assessment of safety for the in vitro and in vivo application of CURCUGEN®. Safety of the herbal medicine was evaluated through the toxicological assessment of acute, oral, and 90-day repeated dosing, genotoxicity, and mutagenicity study. Genotoxicity tests included the in vitro bacterial reverse mutation test, chromosomal aberration test, and in vivo micronucleus test. The single dose of CURCUGEN® administered orally (gavage) to Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats resulted in a LD50 of >5000 mg/kg body weight. The subchronic assessment of CURCUGEN®, as administered to SD rats over 90 days resulted in a no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL) of 2000 mg/kg body weight/day. CURCUGEN® did not elicit any genotoxic or clastogenic effect in genotoxicity tests. The battery of safety studies carried out demonstrated that CURCUGEN® showed no evidence of general toxicity or genotoxicity.

Beneficial Effects of Black Cardamom (Amomum subulatum) on Hemodynamic Parameters in Normotensive and Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats

<b>Background and Objectives:</b> <i>Amomum subulatum</i> (AS) is used to improve cardiac health in traditional medicine practice. The present study evaluates the pharmacological effect of AS aqueous extract on blood pressure in Normotensive (NR) and Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats (SHR). <b>Materials and Methods:</b> Blood pressure, Heart Rate (HR) and Heart Rate Variability (HRV), was recorded in catheterized Sprague-Dawley rats before and after AS intravenous administration by using Mikro-Tip Pressure-Volume System (MPVS), PowerLab. The receptor activity was assessed by using the drugs Acetylcholine (ACh) and Atropine (Atr). <b>Results:</b> Preliminary phytochemistry of AS suggests that it contains tannins, flavonoids and saponins. Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP) was found to decrease significantly in NR and SHR as compared with the control. The lowest dose (1 mg kg<sup></sup><sup>1</sup>) produced the least (16%) while 30 mg kg<sup></sup><sup>1</sup> caused the maximum reduction (40%) in MAP. Electrocardiograph analysis revealed a significant increase in RR interval (decreased heart rate), time-domain Standard Deviation of Interbeat Interval (SDNN) and the Root Mean Square of the Successive Differences (RMSSD) and High-frequency Domain (HF%) parameters and a decrease in the Low-Frequency (LF) range, suggesting the activation and involvement of the parasympathetic limb. It was also observed that the cardiovascular effects of AS were comparable to Acetylcholine (ACh) and both were completely blocked by Atropine (1 μg kg<sup></sup><sup>1</sup>). <b>Conclusion:</b> The obtained results suggest that AS has a hypotensive effect, with an impact on the HRV of NR and SHR. <i>Amomum subulatum</i> might cause an augmented effect on the cholinergic limb of the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) and decrease the blood pressure and heart rate significantly.

Safety and efficacy of turmeric extract, turmeric oil, turmeric oleoresin and turmeric tincture from Curcuma longa L. rhizome when used as sensory additives in feed for all animal species

Following a request from the European Commission, the EFSA Panel on Additives and Products or Substances used in Animal Feed (FEEDAP) was asked to deliver a scientific opinion on the safety and efficacy of turmeric extract, turmeric oil, turmeric oleoresin and turmeric tincture from Curcuma longa L. rhizome when used as sensory additives in feed and in water for drinking for all animal species. The FEEDAP Panel concludes that the additives under consideration are safe at the maximum proposed use levels: (i) turmeric extract at 15 mg/kg complete feed (or in water for drinking at comparable exposure) for all animal species; (ii) turmeric essential oil at 80 mg/kg feed for veal calves (milk replacer) and 20 mg/kg complete feed (or 20 mg/L) for all other species; (iii) turmeric oleoresin at 30 mg/kg complete feed (or 30 mg/L) for chickens for fattening and laying hens and 5 mg/kg complete feed (or 5 mg/L) for pigs, veal calves, cattle for fattening and dairy cows, sheep, goats, horses, rabbits and fish; (iv) turmeric tincture at 0.8 mL/L water for drinking for poultry, 6 mL per head and day for horses and 0.05 mL tincture/kg complete feed for dogs. No concerns for consumers were identified following the use of the additives at the proposed use level in animal nutrition. Turmeric extract, turmeric oil, turmeric oleoresin and turmeric tincture should be considered as irritants to skin and eyes and the respiratory tract and as skin sensitisers. The use of the additives in feed is not expected to pose a risk for the environment. Since turmeric and its preparations are recognised to flavour food and their function in feed would be essentially the same as that in food, no further demonstration of efficacy is considered necessary.

Food additive "lauric acid" possess non-toxic profile on biochemical, haematological and histopathological studies in female Sprague Dawley (SD) rats

Background

Lauric acid (LA), a common constituent of coconut oil, is used as food additives and supplements in various formulations. Despite various potential pharmacological properties, no scientific evidence on its dose-related toxicity and safety is available till date.

Objective

The current study was conducted to evaluate acute oral toxicity of LA on normal rats.

Methods

The study was conducted in accordance with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development guidelines (OECD 423) with slight modifications. LA was administered orally to female Sprague Dawley (SD) rats (n = 6/group) at a single dose of 300 and 2,000 mg/kg body weight, respectively, while normal control received vehicle only. Animals from all the three groups were monitored for any behavioural and toxicological changes and mortality for two weeks. Food and fluid consumption, body weight was monitored on daily basis. At the end (on day 15th) of the experimental period, blood was collected for haematological and biochemical analysis. Further, all the animals were euthanized, and internal organs were harvested for histopathological investigation using four different stainings; haematoxylin and eosin, Masson trichrome, Periodic Acid Schiff and Picro Sirius Red for gross pathology through microscopical observation.

Results

The study results showed no LA treatment-related mortality and morbidity at two different dosages. Daily food and water consumption, body weight, relative organ weight, haematological, and biochemical analysis were observed to be normal with no severe alterations to the internal tissues.

Conclusion

The current finding suggests that single oral administration of LA, even up to 2,000 mg/kg body weight, did not exhibit any signs of toxicity in SD rats; thus, it was safe to be used on disease models in animals.

Acute and 28-day repeated dose oral toxicity study of caraway oil in rats

Background Caraway oil (CO) obtained from the fruits of Carum carvi L. (Apiaceae) is used in traditional systems of medicine for various diseases. The present study was designed to evaluate the safety profile of CO by acute and repeated dose oral toxicity as per the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development guidelines 423 and 407, respectively. Methods In an acute toxicity study, a single dose of CO (300 and 2000 mg/kg) was given to female Wistar rats, and the animals were observed for signs of behavioral alterations, morbidity and mortality for 14 days. Repeated dose toxicity was performed at doses of 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg for 28 days in Wistar rats. The effects of CO on food and water intake, body weight, relative organ weight, clinical biochemistry, hematological parameters and urine parameters were studied. Gross necropsy and histopathology of vital organs were carried out. Results A single oral dose at 300 mg/kg CO did not show any signs of toxicity and mortality, while a dose of 2000 mg/kg showed signs of mortality in one animal and some signs of toxicity in another two animals. In the repeated dose toxicity study, CO at selected dose levels did not show any significant alterations in food and water intake, body weight and relative organ weight. Administration of CO did not show any significant changes in hematological, biochemical and urine parameters and histopathology study when compared with normal control animals. Conclusions The CO was found to be safe at all selected dose levels in the repeated dose toxicity study in rats.

A toxicity profile of the Pheroid® technology in rodents

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Acute administration of 2000 mg/kg of the Pheroid® delivery system was tolerated upon intravenous administration in BALB/c mice and Sprague-Dawley rats.

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Oral administration was tolerated in both acute toxicity evaluation (14-days post single dose administration) and during chronic administration (90-days dosing).

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No mutagenicity was present during the Ames assay.

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A statistically significant increase in creatinine levels in the sub-chronic female treatment group was observed, however no treatment related pathology was identified during histopathology.

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This evaluation did not identify any risk factors present for toxicity during oral or intravenous administration of the tested formulations during acute or repeated dosing.

The Pheroid® drug delivery system is now on the threshold of progressing into human clinical trials for various patented pharmaceutical applications and a systematic investigation of its toxicological properties in vitro and in vivo is thus a priority. Colloidal dispersions (nano- and microemulsions) demonstrate the ability to be adapted to accommodate either lipophilic, hydrophilic or amphiphilic drug molecules. The colloidal dispersions investigated during this evaluation has a general size of 200 nm - 2 μm, a zeta-potential of -25 mV and the main ingredient was ethyl esters of essential fatty acids.

The Ames mutagenicity assay was performed on selected Salmonella thyphimurium strains TA98, TA100 and TA102. The Ames assay included S9 metabolic activation and no mutagenicity was present during the assay. The effect of acute and subchronic administration on a biological system was investigated in two species of rodent (BALB/c mice and Sprague-Dawley rats). Observations focused on the physical condition, blood biochemical analysis and the haematological profiles. Gross necropsy was performed on all the test animals. Organ weights followed by histopathology of selected organ tissues were recorded.

During the acute evaluation animals showed tolerance of the maximum prescribed dose of 2000 mg/kg (according to OECD guidelines) in two rodent species after intravenous administration (absolute bioavaibility). The oral formulation was tolerated without incidents in both acute and subchronic studies. Although valuable baseline safety data was obtained regarding the Pheroid® system, future studies with the entrapped active pharmaceutical ingredients is necessary to provide a definitive safety profile.

Recent advances of analogues of curcumin for treatment of cancer

Curcumin (CU), an edible natural pigment from Curcuma Longa, has demonstrated extensive anti-tumor effect in vivo and in vitro. With the property of reversing drug resistance and low toxicity, CU has been considered to develop a new adjuvant chemotherapy protocol of cancer. However, the poor stability, solubility, in vivo bioavailability and weak activity of CU greatly limit its clinical application. Therefore, CU analogues have been extensively studied. Starting from the study of natural CU analogues, multiple approaches are being sought to obtain more stable, soluble and effective analogues of CU. This review focuses on the progress of these approaches to more potent CU analogues.

A novel bioavailable hydrogenated curcuminoids formulation (CuroWhite™) improves symptoms and diagnostic indicators in rheumatoid arthritis patients - A randomized, double blind and placebo controlled study

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an inflammatory disease that cause chronic pain, disability and joint destruction. The present placebo controlled randomized study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a novel hydrogenated curcuminoid formulation-CuroWhite™, in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Twenty four RA patients were randomized in 1:1:1 ratio to receive 250 mg, 500 mg CuroWhite or placebo as one capsule a day, over a period of three months. Improvement in the ACR response, changes in disease activity assessed using the DAS 28 score, change in physical function assessed on change in ESR, CRP, RF values were evaluated before and after the study. Results suggested that patients who received CuroWhite both low and high doses reported statistically significant changes in their clinical symptoms towards end of the study when compared with placebo. There were significant changes in DAS28 (50–64%) VAS (63–72%) ESR (88–89%), CRP (31–45%) RF (80–84%) values and ACR response for CuroWhite groups in comparison with placebo. Thus, CuroWhite acts as the analgesic and anti-inflammatory product for management of RA by the reduction of the inflammatory action which was confirmed by improvement in ESR, CRP, VAS, RF, DAS-28 and ACR responses. CuroWhite was significantly effective against RA with highly safe without serious side effects and well tolerated.

Development of Validated Methods and Quantification of Curcuminoids and Curcumin Metabolites and Their Pharmacokinetic Study of Oral Administration of Complete Natural Turmeric Formulation (Cureit™) in Human Plasma via UPLC/ESI-Q-TOF-MS Spectrometry

Specific and sensitive ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time of flight-mass spectroscopy (UPLC-QTOF-MS) methods have been developed for the determination of curcuminoids and curcumin metabolites in human blood plasma. The UPLC-QTOF-MS method used a binary solvent delivery system and the chromatographic separation was performed on a C-18 (2.1 × 50 mm; 1.7 µm) column. Mass spectra were obtained on a Waters Xevo G2S Q-TOF mass spectrometer. The developed methods to characterize the pharmacokinetics of curcuminoids and curcumin metabolites in human blood plasma after an oral administration of bioavailable curcumin-Cureit™-were validated. It was found that the complete turmeric matrix enhances the concentration of tetrahydrocurcumin (THC), hexahydrocurcumin (HHC), octahydrocurcumin (OHC), curcumin-O-glucuronide (COG) and curcumin-O-sulfate (COS) in the blood plasma once the product is administrated.

A Toxicological Evaluation of a Standardized Hydrogenated Extract of Curcumin (CuroWhite™)

A series of toxicological investigations were conducted in order to evaluate the genotoxic potential and repeated-dose oral toxicity of CuroWhite, a proprietary extract of curcumin that has been hydrogenated and standardized to not less than 25% hydrogenated curcuminoid content. All tests were conducted in general accordance with internationally accepted standards. The test item was not mutagenic in the bacterial reverse mutation test or in vitro mammalian chromosomal aberration test, and no in vivo genotoxic activity was observed in rat bone marrow in the micronucleus test. A 90-day repeated-dose study was conducted in male and female Sprague-Dawley rats. Two mortalities occurred in the main and satellite high-dose groups and were determined due to gavage error. No organ specific or other toxic effects of the test item were observed up to the maximum dose of 800 mg/kg bw/day, administered by gavage. NOAEL was, therefore, estimated as 800 mg/kg bw/day.