Toxicity study of ethanolic extract of Chrysanthemum morifolium in rats

Chrysanthemum morifolium extract (CME) has many pharmacological effects, and the effective components of CME are luteolin and apigenin which have been reported with cytotoxicity in vitro. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety of CME in Sprague-Dawley (S-D) rats. In the acute toxicity study, a single oral dose of 15 g/kg body weight (bw) CME was administered to rats, then the rats were observed for 14 d. No treatment-related death was observed, and the maximal tolerance dose estimated was greater than 15 g/kg bw in rats. In the long-term toxicity study, the rats were administered daily by gavage at dose levels of 320, 640, and 1280 mg/kg bw/d for consecutive 26 wk followed by 4 wk recovery period. The results showed that no toxicological changes in body weight, food, and water consumption, hematologic examination, blood biochemical examination, organ weight, and microscopic histopathologic examination were found in any treatment group. Therefore, CME is considered to be safe in general in rats at the limited dose level.