Objectives: To study the effect of Artemisiae Capillaris Herba extracts, that have been used as oriental medicine to treat liver disease, on the perinatal and lactational n;)productive toxicity of SD rats when administered by oral lavage.
Methods: Female SD rats were dosed from 6 days of gestation to 3 weeks postpartum. This was conducted in accordance with the recommendations of the KFDA Guidelines for Detection of Toxicity to Reproduction for Medicinal Products.
Results: No Artemisiae Capillaris Herba extracts treatment-related changes in clinical signs, mortalities, implantation number, dead fetus number, loss rate of fetus, number of live young, survival rate of fetus, sex ratio of live young, external anomalies, pregnancy periods, viability index, lactational index, survival rate of litters at 4 days after birth or delivery index were demonstrated in any dosed levels in this study. However, the body weight and gains, food consumption and absolute organ weights of brain, adrenal glands, liver, spleen, kidney, ovaries and heart were significantly increased in 2000 or 1000mg/kg-dosing groups and the relative organ Weights of adrenal glands were significantly increased in 2,000mg/kg-dosing groups. Therefore, it was concluded that this increase was natural according to growth. Also, no changes of gross findings, clinical signs, mortalities, body weight and gains, physical development results, necropsy findings, organ weight, faculty test, open filed test and water-filled simple T-maze test, copulation, fertility, pregnancy indices, body weight and gains during gestation periods, necropsy findings, corpora lutea number, implantation number, implantation rate, dead fetus number, post-implantation loss rate, live young, post-implantation survival rate, sex ratio of live young, external anomalies and individual body weights of live young were demonstrated in any dosed levels in this study.
Conclusions: It is considered that the NOAEL (No-Observed-Adverse-Effect Level) for perinatal and lactational reproductive toxicity of Artemisiae Capillaris Herba extracts was up to 2000mg/kg/day because no changes of other perinatal and lactational reproductive indices were demonstrated.
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