Toxicity study of compound honeysuckle moisturizing Chinese herbal extract by oral gavage for 13 weeks in sprague dawley rats.

Abstract

To assess the safety of oral compound honeysuckle moisturizing Chinese herbal extract for eczema treatment, Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were oral administered three doses (20.8, 41.6, and 83.3 g/kg, based on raw materials) of the extract daily for 13 consecutive weeks. The study aimed to identify potential toxic reactions, mortality due to accumulation, and recovery after discontinuation. By observing these factors, we sought to determine the target organs of toxicity and establish nontoxic doses for SD rats. The results indicated that during the administration period and subsequent recovery period, there were no significant abnormalities in weight gain, food intake, hematology, blood biochemistry, or urine indicators. Additionally, histopathological analysis of major organs (heart, liver, lungs, kidneys, spleen, and brain) revealed no significant extract-related lesions. Moreover, no significant local toxic lesions were observed in the oral buccal and tongue mucosa. Finally, under the experimental conditions of this study, the preliminary nontoxic response dose of oral gavage compound honeysuckle moisturizing Chinese herbal extract administered to SD rats for 13 weeks was 83.3 g/kg/day (calculated as raw medicine).