Abstract BACKGROUND: In this study, toxicity analysis of a mercury-based Ayurvedic herbo-metallic preparation, Chandramrit rasa (CR), has been done. CR is used in the treatment of fever, cough, cold, bronchitis, etc. METHODS: To evaluate the subchronic toxicity, three doses: 30, 300, and 600 mg/kg body weight/day of CR were administered daily to male and female albino Wistar rats for 90 days through the oral route. Changes in body weight and feed consumption were monitored weekly. Rats were sacrificed on the 91st day after the completion of the dosing period, and blood and the vital organs were sampled for biochemical, hematological, and histopathological investigation, genotoxicity, expression of oxidative stress-related genes, and metal biodistribution in blood. One-way analysis of variance and Fisher’s exact test were done using GraphPad Prism 3 software. RESULTS: No mortality or severe behavioral changes observed. The body weight and feed intake remained largely unaffected. At high doses, significant changes in biochemical markers were seen. The micronucleus test and comet assay have demonstrated significant DNA damage at the highest doses in male and female rats. Furthermore, mercury was not detected in blood, and hematological parameters were unaffected. Histopathological changes in the liver and kidney, and significant changes in the regulation of oxidative stress-related genes at high doses were observed. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that CR can have toxic effects on long-term oral treatment at very high doses, which is 20 times the therapeutic equivalent dose.
Kumari et al. (Sun,) studied this question.
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