Acute and repeated doses (28 days) oral toxicity study of glycosides based standardized fenugreek seed extract in laboratory mice

The objective of the present work was to study acute and subacute (28-days repeated dose) oral toxicity effect of glycosides based standardized fenugreek seed extract (SFSE-G) in vivo. SFSE-G was prepared by resin-based chromatography and standardized to glycosides namely trigoneoside Ib (76%) and vicenin 1 (15%). The acute oral toxicity (AOT) and subacute toxicity studies were performed in Swiss albino mice (5 mice/sex/group) as per OECD 425 (up-and-down procedure) and OCED 407 guidelines respectively. Acute oral administration of 5000 mg/kg of SFSE-G showed 40% mortality with no mortality in lower dosages. The subacute oral administration of SFSE-G did not show observational or toxicological effects on the body or organ weights, food consumption, ophthalmic effects, locomotor activity, hematology, blood biochemistry, urinalysis, or histopathology at dose 250 mg/kg. However, SFSE-G (1000 mg/kg) showed mortality and minor alterations to body weight, relative liver weights, hematology and blood chemistry parameters related to treatment but it was within normal laboratory ranges. In conclusion, SFSE-G showed median lethal dose (LD50) more than 4350 mg/kg and no-observed adverse effect levels (NOAEL) of 250 mg/kg for both sexes during AOT and sub-acute toxicity study, respectively.