Acute and Sub Chronic Toxicity of Mucuna pruriens, Cinnamomum zeylanicum, Myristica fragrans and their Effects on Hematological Parameters

Abstarct: Use of herbal medicines prevails in rural and urban areas of the world; especially for treating ailments which allopathic medicines fail to treat. Present study was undertaken for the pharmacological and toxicological evaluation of Mucuna pruriens, Cinnamomum zeylanicum, and Myristica fragrans, alone and in combination. The acute toxicity was studied on mice and sub chronic toxicity and hematological parameters were evaluated on rabbits. The mice and rabbits were divided into control and treated groups and kept under observation, for specified time period. To determine acute toxicity mice were kept under observation up to 24 hours after dosing, for sub chronic gross toxicities and hematological parameters rabbits were treated daily for 90 days. The sub chronic gross toxicities were assessed on weekly basis and hematological parameters were tested on 91 day after completion of dosing period. Statistical analysis was done using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by post hoc. LD50 in all the treated groups was found to be greater than 1600 mg/kg body weight and there were no significant sub chronic gross toxicities in most of the rabbits. Moreover no significant difference was found in most of the hematological parameters of treated groups as compared to control. The drugs were found to be safe in the doses used in this study both on mice and rabbits. However further preclinical and clinical studies are required to establish the safety of these drugs in herbal formulations.