Oral acute and sub-acute toxic effects of hydroalcoholic Terminalia chebula Retz and Achillea wilhelmsii extracts in BALB/c mice

Slowly Making Sense: A Review of the Two-Step Venom System within Slow (Nycticebus spp.) and Pygmy Lorises (Xanthonycticebus spp.)

Since the early 2000s, studies of the evolution of venom within animals have rapidly expanded, offering new revelations on the origins and development of venom within various species. The venomous mammals represent excellent opportunities to study venom evolution due to the varying functional usages, the unusual distribution of venom across unrelated mammals and the diverse variety of delivery systems. A group of mammals that excellently represents a combination of these traits are the slow (Nycticebus spp.) and pygmy lorises (Xanthonycticebus spp.) of south-east Asia, which possess the only confirmed two-step venom system. These taxa also present one of the most intriguing mixes of toxic symptoms (cytotoxicity and immunotoxicity) and functional usages (intraspecific competition and ectoparasitic defence) seen in extant animals. We still lack many pieces of the puzzle in understanding how this venom system works, why it evolved what is involved in the venom system and what triggers the toxic components to work. Here, we review available data building upon a decade of research on this topic, focusing especially on why and how this venom system may have evolved. We discuss that research now suggests that venom in slow lorises has a sophisticated set of multiple uses in both intraspecific competition and the potential to disrupt the immune system of targets; we suggest that an exudate diet reveals several toxic plants consumed by slow and pygmy lorises that could be sequestered into their venom and which may help heal venomous bite wounds; we provide the most up-to-date visual model of the brachial gland exudate secretion protein (BGEsp); and we discuss research on a complement component 1r (C1R) protein in saliva that may solve the mystery of what activates the toxicity of slow and pygmy loris venom. We conclude that the slow and pygmy lorises possess amongst the most complex venom system in extant animals, and while we have still a lot more to understand about their venom system, we are close to a breakthrough, particularly with current technological advances.

Chemical Profiling and Therapeutic Evaluation of Standardized Hydroalcoholic Extracts of Terminalia chebula Fruits Collected from Different Locations in Manipur against Colorectal Cancer

Terminalia chebula Retz. (Fam. Combretaceae), locally called Manahei, is a well-known medicinal plant that grows wildly in Manipur, a Northeastern state of India. It is used as a mild laxative, an anti-inflammatory agent, and a remedy for piles, colds, and ulcers by ethnic communities of the state. The hydroalcoholic extract obtained from four fruit samples of T. chebula collected from different locations in Manipur were analyzed using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) for their chemical constituents and evaluated for their anticancer activity against the colon cancer cell HCT 116. GC-MS analysis results indicated significant variation in the composition and percentage of major compounds present in the extracts. 1,2,3-Benzenetriol was the most abundant chemical constituent present in all four extracts of T. chebula, ranging from 20.95 to 43.56%. 2-Cyclopenten-1-one, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, and catechol were commonly present in all extracts. Two marker compounds, gallic acid and ellagic acid, were also quantified usingHPTLC in all four extracts of T. chebula. The highest content of gallic acid (22.44 ± 0.056 µg/mg of dried extract) was observed in TCH, and that of ellagic acidwas found in TYH (11.265 ± 0.089 µg/mg of dried extract). The IC50 value of TYH for the DPPH and ABTS assays (12.16 ± 0.42 and 7.80 ± 0.23 µg/mL) was found to be even lower than that of Trolox (18 ± 0.44 and 10.15 ± 0.24 µg/mL), indicating its strong antioxidant properties among the four extracts of T. chebula. The MTT assay determined the effect of T. chebula extracts on the viability of HCT 116 cells. TYH showed the highest activity with anIC50 value of 52.42 ± 0.87 µg/mL, while the lowest activity was observed in TCH (172.05 ± 2.0 µg/mL). The LDH assay confirmed the cytotoxic effect of TYH in HCT 116 cells. TYH was also found to induce caspase-dependent apoptosis in HCT 116 cells after 48 h of treatment. Our study provides insight into the diversity of T. chebula in Manipur and its potential activity against colon cancer.

Investigation of Anti-Inflammatory Properties, Phytochemical Constituents, Antioxidant, and Antimicrobial Potentials of the Whole Plant Ethanolic Extract of Achillea santolinoides subsp. wilhelmsii (K. Koch) Greuter of Balochistan

Medicinal plants are rich source of phytochemical constitutes and can be used to treat many human diseases. Infectious diseases have always been a major source of concern. Globally, the medicinal plant Achillea wilhelmsii locally known as Bohe Madran is extensively dispersed and widely used as traditional medicine. The aim of this present work is to investigate phytochemical constituents and antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties of the whole plant ethanolic extract of Achillea santolinoides subsp. wilhelmsii (WEEAW) from Balochistan region. The total phenolic content was $14.81\pm 0.18$  mg GAE/g of the extract whereas the total flavonoid content was $12.27\pm 0.12$  mg QE/g of the extract. The antioxidant ability of the extract was analyzed by DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl) scavenging assay and FRAP (ferric reducing antioxidant power) assay in terms of concentration having 50% inhibition (IC50). Results showed that IC50 value for DPPH% inhibition was $0.367\pm 0.82$  mg/mL while FRAP assay represented with IC50 value of $0.485\pm 1.26$  mg/mL. In antileishmanial bioassay, the extract was analyzed against Leishmania major and showed good activity with IC50 value of $7.02\pm 0.83$  mg/mL. Antibacterial assay revealed that Staphylococcus aureus was highly sensitive with the diameter of inhibition zone ( $21.61\pm 1.09$  mm) followed by Salmonella typhi ( $17.32\pm 0.15$  mm), Pseudomonas aeruginosa ( $16.41\pm 0.63$  mm), and Escherichia coli ( $15.30\pm 1.17$  mm) while Klebsiella pneumoniae showed minimum inhibition ( $14.13\pm 0.49$  mm). Antifungal activity was tested against Aspergillus flavus with 89% of inhibition zone and 77% against Mucor mucedo and Aspergillus niger with 74% of inhibition zone. The anti-inflammatory assay was carried out by inhibiting protein denaturation, proteinase inhibitory activity, and heat-induced hemolysis. The IC50 value for protein denaturation was $6.67\pm 1.25$  mg/mL, proteinase inhibitory with IC50 value of $4.12\pm 0.69$  mg/mL, and heat-induced hemolysis assay with IC50 value $4.53\pm 0.82$  mg/mL by comparing to the standard drug aspirin having IC50 value $1.85\pm 0.54$  mg/mL. Results of the current work showed that whole plant ethanolic extract of Achillea wilhelmsii exhibited substantial anti-inflammatory action, thus can be utilized as a traditional treatment. Furthermore, overall finding of this research suggested that the antioxidant potential of the plant aids to prevent free radical damage and reduce the incidence of chronic disease. More research is needed to find out more active compounds present in the extract that are responsible for their pharmacological effects.

Acute and sub-acute toxicity study of ethanol extract from Nectandra leucantha Nees & Mart. (Lauraceae) barks

Nectandra leucantha has been used in traditional medicine. Several metabolites isolated from N. leucantha extracts displayed immunomodulatory, antileishmanial properties, but the determination of the toxicological profile in mammals has not previously been performed. In this study, the ethanol extract from N. leucantha barks (EENl) was characterized by HPLC/HRESIMS. To study acute toxicity, female mice received EENl in a single dose of 100, 300, 1000, or 2000 mg/kg bw. Later, sub-acute toxicity was introduced in female and male mice by oral gavage at 100, 500 or 1000 mg/kg bw for 28 consecutive days. Hematological and biochemical profiles from the blood as well as histological analysis from the liver and kidney were performed. The HPLC/HRESIMS analysis of the EENl revealed the presence of six neolignans chemically related to dehydrodieugenol B. In the oral acute and sub-chronic studies, EENl did not produce in all doses evaluated any alteration in behavior, biochemical, hematological, body weight gain and food intake or sudden death in Swiss mice. In addition, histopathological data did not reveal any disturbance in liver and kidney morphology after 28 days of EENl treatment. Our results indicate that EENl at dosage levels up to 2000 mg/kg bw is non-toxic and can be considered safe for mammals.

Safety of the Oral Triphala Recipe from Acute and Chronic Toxicity Tests in Sprague-Dawley Rats

BACKGROUND

The Indian Ayurvedic herbal formula Triphala (TPL) is known for its pharmacological properties for immunomodulation, anti-inflammation, antioxidant, and anti-cancer. This study aimed to investigate the acute and chronic toxicities of the Triphala recipe in a rat model.

METHODS

To assess the acute toxicities, 5000 mg/kg of TPL was orally administered to Sprague-Dawley rats. For chronic toxicities, different dose levels of TPL at 600, 1200, and 2400 mg/kg/day were given daily for 270 days. General health and behaviors and the body and organ weights of the rats were monitored. At the end of the experiment, blood samples were evaluated for hematology and biochemistry profiles. The evaluation of the internal organs' appurtenance and necropsy was performed to confirm the tissue histopathology.

RESULTS

The results showed that there was no sign of acute toxicity in the TPL group with a decrease in sex organ weights. No significant differences in the rats' behaviors, physical health, body, or organ weights were found between the controls and the rats receiving the 270/day of oral Triphala at 600, 1200, and 2400 mg/kg/day. However, some alterations in blood chemistries and hematology, including glucose, BUN, red blood cells, Hb, HCT, and MCV, were observed without abnormalities in histopathology.

CONCLUSIONS

It has been demonstrated that the long-term use of TPL in rat models is safe. No toxic effects were found, suggesting possible safety for long-term use in humans.

Improved up-and-down procedure for acute toxicity measurement with reliable LD50 verified by typical toxic alkaloids and modified Karber method

Background

Up-and-down procedure (UDP) was recommended to replace traditional acute toxicity methods. However, it was limited due to the long experimental period (20–42 days). To improve UDP, an improved UDP method (iUDP) was developed by shortening observation time between sequence dosages. The aim of this study was to test the reliability of iUDP to provide a reliable method for the acute toxicity measurement of valuable or minor amount compounds.

Methods

Oral median lethal dose (LD₅₀) of nicotine, sinomenine hydrochloride and berberine hydrochloride were measured both by iUDP and modified Karber method (mKM).

Results

LD₅₀ of the three alkaloids measured by iUDP with 23 mice were 32.71 ± 7.46, 453.54 ± 104.59, 2954.93 ± 794.88 mg/kg, respectively. LD₅₀ of the three alkaloids measured by mKM with 240 mice were 22.99 ± 3.01, 456.56 ± 53.38, 2825.53 ± 1212.92 mg/kg, respectively. The average time consumed by the two methods were 22 days and 14 days respectively. Total grams of the alkaloids used by the two methods were 0.0082 and 0.0673 (nicotine), 0.114 and 1.24 (sinomenine hydrochloride), 1.9 and 12.7 (berberine hydrochloride).

Conclusion

iUDP could replace mKM to detect acute toxicity of substances with comparable and reliable result. And it is suitable for valuable or minor amount substances.