Zeitschrift für Pharmakokinetik und experimentelle Therapeutik

Abstrakt

Safety and Toxicity Evaluations of Xanthium strumarium Linn

Bhanu P. S. Sagar

Xanthium strumarium Linn. root and seeds were found to contain alkaloids, anthraquinones, flavonoids, atractyloside, phenolics, steroids, terpenoids, and resin etc. In the present investigation attempt was made to separate the atractylosideby using instant preparative thin layer chromatography (IPTLC) technique. Purified atractyloside was chemically characterized by IR, Mass and NMR spectral analysis. Atractyloside concentrations were found to be 2.9 and 4.3 mg/ml in plant root and seeds respectively using HPLC techniques. During hepatotoxic assessment, atractyloside produced severe hepatotoxicity in albino wistar rats. Observations of the sub-acute and acute toxicity studies had indicated that methanolic extract of X. strumarium had shown a narrow safety margin in animals. On the basis of sub-acute and acute toxicity evaluation studies, it was established that both atractyloside and methanolic extract of X. strumarium L. possess a narrow safety margin in rats used in in-vivo experimental and preclinical pharmacological studies.