title: Safety assessment of powdered Cistanche deserticola Y. C. Ma by a 90-day feeding test in Sprague-Dawley rats.
abstract: Cistanche deserticola (C. deserticola), a holoparasitic plant widely distributed in arid or semi-arid areas in Eurasia and North Africa, has been used as an important tonic in traditional Eastern medicine for centuries. However, little information on the systemic toxicity and safety evaluation of it is available. The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential toxicity of powdered C. deserticola as a novel food ingredient by use of a subchronic toxicity study in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. A total of 80 male and female rats were fed with diets containing 8, 4, 2 and 0% (control) powdered C. deserticola for 90 days. A toxicological assessment was performed including mortality, body and organ weight, food consumption, blood biochemistry, hematology, gross necropsy and histopathological examinations. There were no signs of toxicity and treatment-related changes in rats treated with powdered C. deserticola. The no-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) of powdered C. deserticola was 7.8 g kg-1body weight for males and 8.0 g kg-1body weight for females of rats under the experimental conditions of this study.
authors: a Institute of Toxicology, Guangxi Center for Disease Prevention and Control , Nanning , PR China.
authors: Yuqiu
authors: Y
authors: Gao
authors: a Institute of Toxicology, Guangxi Center for Disease Prevention and Control , Nanning , PR China.
authors: Guangqiu
authors: G
authors: Qin
authors: a Institute of Toxicology, Guangxi Center for Disease Prevention and Control , Nanning , PR China.
authors: Pingjing
authors: P
authors: Wen
authors: a Institute of Toxicology, Guangxi Center for Disease Prevention and Control , Nanning , PR China.
authors: Yanwu
authors: Y
authors: Wang
authors: a Institute of Toxicology, Guangxi Center for Disease Prevention and Control , Nanning , PR China.
authors: Weizhong
authors: W
authors: Fu
authors: a Institute of Toxicology, Guangxi Center for Disease Prevention and Control , Nanning , PR China.
authors: Li
authors: L
authors: He
authors: a Institute of Toxicology, Guangxi Center for Disease Prevention and Control , Nanning , PR China.
authors: Siyu
authors: S
authors: Yao
authors: a Institute of Toxicology, Guangxi Center for Disease Prevention and Control , Nanning , PR China.
authors: Peng
authors: P
authors: Zhao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002681:China; D031671:Cistanche / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000254:growth & development; D019587:Dietary Supplements / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002149:Energy Intake; D019448:Ethnobotany; D005260:Female; D005300:Fertility Agents, Female / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005303:Fertility Agents, Male / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D000074385:Food Ingredients / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional; D019055:No-Observed-Adverse-Effect Level; D009929:Organ Size; D018547:Plant Stems / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000254:growth & development; D011897:Random Allocation; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013047:Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms; D059550:Toxicity Tests, Subchronic; D015430:Weight Gain
chemical_list: D005300:Fertility Agents, Female; D005303:Fertility Agents, Male; D000074385:Food Ingredients
keywords: Cistanche deserticola; feeding study; subchronic toxicity