Abstract
Background: Previous studies have shown that shallomin, one of the active constituents of Persian shallot, has a broad range of antimicrobial properties. Objectives: The safety of shallomin must be established before it can be used in clinical applications. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the acute toxic effects of shallomin and to estimate its lethal dose low (LDLo) value. Materials and Methods: Two series of experiments were performed: In the first series, we used functional testing to assess the acute toxic effects of shallomin on the blood, liver, and kidney and examined histopathological changes in the liver, kidney, lung, and heart, following 7 days of daily intraperitoneal administration of 3 standard doses (10, 20, and 30 µg/g body weight of mice). In the second series, the LDLo value was estimated by determining daily mortality in mice after 7-day administration of escalating doses of shallomin (10 to 240 µg/g body weight of mice). Results: The results showed that shallomin (at the anticipated in vivo doses), unlike the placebo (ethanol), did not produce any adverse effects on the tested organs. The LDLo value was observed to be 160 µg/g body weight; this value is 8- to 32-times the anticipated in vivo dose that produces antimicrobial effects under in vitro conditions against various pathogenic organisms. Conclusions: In conclusion, the results of the present study show that shallomin is a relatively safe agent, although its use needs to be carefully monitored. Further in vivo chronic toxicity tests need to be performed to establish the therapeutic potential of shallomin as an antimicrobial agent.
Highlights
Previous studies have shown that shallomin, one of the active constituents of Persian shallot, has a broad range of antimicrobial properties
The aim of this study was to evaluate the toxicity of shallomin on various body systems from 3 prospective viewpoints: first, by using a range of doses that correlate with effective in vitro concentrations to assess its effect on biochemical parameters related to the blood, liver, and kidney; second, to assess the acute histopathological changes in various organs; and third, to estimate the lethal dose low (LDLo) value, which is the lowest reported concentration that causes death in humans or animals [4]
complete blood count (CBC) analysis of the ethanol-treated group showed a significant reduction in platelet and red blood cell (RBC) counts, in comparison with those in both the non-treated control and shallomin-treated groups; this suggested that ethanol causes significantly acute suppression of the bone marrow
Summary
Previous studies have shown that shallomin, one of the active constituents of Persian shallot, has a broad range of antimicrobial properties. The crude aqueous extract of shallot, unlike onion and garlic, An In Vivo Acute Toxicological Study on Shallomin on Blood, Kindey and Liver maintained its antimicrobial activity against both gramnegative and gram-positive pathogenic bacteria The active compound responsible for the antimicrobial properties is a flavonoid with the general formula C14H8O8 and the proposed name of shallomin [3] This ancient plant is a potential source for the treatment of bacterial and fungal infections and has a unique property not commonly found in current antiinfective agents. Evidence of the safety of any medicinal agent, including those obtained from plants, is required before it can be used in the food industry or in any clinical setting
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