Safety of the traditional Korean herbal medicine CGX: a 6-month repeated-dose study in rats.
BACKGROUND
CGX is a traditional Korean herbal medicine used to treat chronic liver diseases.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the pharmaceutical safety of hepatoprotective herbal medicine, CGX via systemic 6-month repeated dose toxicity study in SD rats.


METHODS
Male and female SD rats were administered CGX for 6 months (0, 100, 200, or 400 mg kg(-1), respectively). The rats were visually inspected for changes in behavior, body weight, food and water consumption, and appearance during the experiment period. At the end of the experiment, urine, hematological, biochemical analysis, and histopathological examination were carried out.


RESULTS
No drug-induced abnormalities were found as clinical signs or in the histopathology, hematology, blood biochemistry, and urinalysis results for any administered doses of CGX.


CONCLUSIONS
The results suggest that CGX is safe and could be considered as an effective and prospective herbal formulation in clinical applications with a wide therapeutic index.
Shin
Jang Woo
JW
Liver and Immunology Research Center, Institute of Traditional Medicine and Bioscience of Daejeon University, 22-5, Daeheung-dong, Jung-gu, Daejeon 301-724, Republic of Korea.
Kim
Hyeong Geug
HG
Park
Hye Jung
HJ
Sung
Nak Won
NW
Son
Chang Gue
CG
D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D029001:Herbal Medicine; D007723:Korea; D008297:Male; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D008519:Medicine, Traditional; D009929:Organ Size / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley