랫드에서 향부자 추출물의 13주 반복 경구투여 독성평가

Toxicity Assessment of Cyperi rhizoma Aqueous Extract Orally Administered to Rats for 13 Consecutive Weeks

Herbal medicine has been traditionally used in Asian countries for a long time. Many pharmacological effects are identified in the herbs and these herbs are believed to be safe for human. However, the safety or adverse effect of some traditional herbal medicines has not been established. We have chosen Cyperi rhizoma based on the Korea Herbal Phar- macopoeia and which have been widely used for an anti-inflammatory effect in Korea. The object of the study was to eval- uate safety of Cyperi rhizoma in rats. The aqueous extract of Cyperi rhizoma was prepared according to the standard hot water extraction method of the Korea Pharmacopoeia. In the sub-chronic study, the aqueous extract of Cyperi rhizoma was orally administered once daily as 0, 125, 250, 500, 1000 and 2000 mg/kg/day to male and female F344 rats for 13 weeks. There were no treatment related abnormalities in mortality, clinical signs, food consumption, ophthalmologic examination, hematology, serum chemistry, urinalysis, gross observation, organ weight and histopathologic examination. In conclusion, The NOAEL (No Observed Adverse Effect Level) for Cyperi rhizoma aqueous extract was determined as more than 2000 mg/kg/day in the present experimental condition.