Toxicological study of the hepatotherapeutic herbal formula, chunggan extract, in beagle dogs

To evaluate the pharmaceutical safety of a Chinese herbal formula, chunggan extract (CGX), traditionally prescribed as a hepatotherapeutic drug via systemic acute and subacute toxicological study.

Twenty male dogs and 20 female dogs were fed doses 50 times and 4 times greater than the clinically-recommended drug dosages in an acute and a subacute toxicological study, respectively. Adverse effects were examined by comparing the differences between normal and drug-administered groups using clinical signs, necropsies, histopathologic findings, haematology, urinalysis, and biochemical analysis.

In the acute study no change in the body weight, diarrhoea, apetite, mortality rate and histopathology of major organs was observed in male or female dogs with a single administration of CGX at 5 g/kg. No drug-induced abnormalities at analysis of histopathology, haematology, urinalysis, and biochemistry were found with any dose of this drug.

CGX is supposed to be very safe when used in a clinical application with a wide therapeutic index.