A 24-Weeks Toxicity Study of Eryngium foetidum Linn. Leaves in Mice

Eryngium foetidum Linn. leaves (EF) are widely used in Thailand and many countries throughout Asia as a culinary seasoning and a traditional medicine. However, adverse effect of high dose consumption in long duration has not been evaluated. The aim of this study was to investigate chronic toxicity of EF in mice. Thirty-two ICR male mice were divided into 4 groups of 8 mice each. The mice were fed AIN-76 rodent diet, or AIN-76 rodent diet supplemented with ground freeze-dried EF at 0.8%, 1.6% and 3.2% that is equivalent to approximately 35, 73 and 155 times that of human consumption, respectively, at 97.5 percentile for a period of 24 weeks. At the end of experiment, the mice were euthanized and blood samples were collected for hematological and biochemical evaluations. Necropsy was performed while visceral organs such as lung, liver, kidneys, spleen etc. were collected, weighed and histopathologically examined. Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) results of mice in 1.6% and 3.2% EF diet groups were significantly higher than the BUN of control group. No significant difference was noted in other biochemical and hematological properties between the treatment groups and control; all results were within normal range. Histopathology of almost all visceral organs showed no significant changes. However, tubulonephrosis and chronic interstitial nephritis were observed in the groups treated with 1.6% and 3.2% EF diet. Body weight was reduced significantly at week 12 to week 20 when compared to the control group while relative kidney weights were significantly increased. In conclusion, the consumption of EF in diet at high doses illustrated the adverse effect on some biochemical parameters and histopathology in mice. Our findings suggested that EF daily consumption for 24 weeks, at higher doses than the 0.8% EF diet (35 times of human consumption), might cause adverse effect on kidney function in mice.