Acute & Sub-acute Toxicity Studies of Pharmacologically Active Seabuckthorn Leaf Extract

Background: Seabuckthorn (SBT, Hippophae rhamnoides L.) is an important medicinal plant of cold desert areas. Therapeutic significance of various parts of this plant has been mentioned in many traditional medicinal systems, especially Chinese and Tibetan systems. There are many pharmacological reports suggesting therapeutic usefulness of SBT leaf extracts, however, relatively very few toxicity studies are available on these extracts. Objective: The present study was undertaken to evaluate preclinical acute and subacute toxicity of a 75% ethanolic extract of SBT leaves in Sprague-Dawley rats. Methods: Firstly, the SBT Leaf extract was characterized by total phenol content estimation and HPLC fingerprinting analysis. Further, toxicity was evaluated in Sprague-Dowley rats after single dose oral administration of the extract in the dose range of 0.625, 1.25, 2.50 and 5 g/kg body weight (acute model) and 28 days administration in the dose range of 0.625 and 1.25 g/kg body weight (Subacute model). Results: The results of the acute toxicity study showed the LD Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS), DRDO, Delhi (INDIA). Email: [email protected]