Toxicological Evaluation of the Roots of Ficus pandurata Hance var. angustifolia Cheng

This study aimed to systematically evaluate the safety of roots of Ficus pandurata Hance var. angustifolia Cheng (RFPH) using comprehensive cellular and animal toxicological assays. Two-year-old RFPH roots were processed into an aqueous extract powder, with 1 g of extract equivalent to 30 g of raw material. Acute oral toxicity, bacterial reverse mutation, chromosome aberration, mammalian micronucleus, teratogenicity, and 90-day repeated-dose oral toxicity tests were conducted in SD rats and ICR mice. No significant signs of toxicity or mortality were observed in mice or rats administered 10.0 g/kg BW of RFPH aqueous extract powder in the acute toxicity test. The bacterial reverse mutation, mammalian micronucleus, and chromosome aberration tests were negative, suggesting no mutagenic potential under the experimental conditions. In the 90-day repeated-dose oral toxicity study, the NOAELs were 2.72 g/kg BW/day for female rats and 2.51 g/kg BW/day for male rats, corresponding to 81.6 and 75.3 g/kg BW/day of raw RFPH, respectively. The study design and key findings are summarized in the graphical abstract. These results provide toxicological safety evidence supporting the potential application of RFPH in food, functional food, and herbal product development.