Innocuousness of a polyherbal formulation: A case study using a traditional Thai antihypertensive herbal recipe in rodents

Recently, a traditional Thai antihypertensive herbal recipe has reportedly been used in Thailand. Its ingredients have long featured in traditional Thai medicine preparations; however, research indicates that the presence of one of them - Tinospora crispa - may have negative effects on the liver and kidneys. Thus, the safety data of this recipe must be proved in animal models prior to conducting any studies in humans. The present case study aims to evaluate the safety of this recipe in Swiss albino mice and Wistar rats through acute and sub-chronic toxicity studies, respectively. The quality control of this recipe was also achieved to guarantee the chemical consistency throughout the entire experiment. Results showed that this recipe did not cause death or any toxic signs in mice or rats. The oral LD50 value in mice was more than 5.0 g/kg. Some hematological and serum biochemical values of treated rats, such as hematocrit, hemoglobin, platelet, monocytes, aspartate aminotransferase, bilirubin, and creatinine, were found to be statistically different from the control group; however, all values were within the ranges of normal rats. Considering the histological study, no damage on liver and kidney tissues was observed in the treatment.