Evaluation of the Toxicity of a Single Oral Dose of N-(D-Ribopyranosyl)taurine Sodium Salt in Mice.

Abstract

Taurine is a simple sulfur-containing compound and one of the most abundant free amino acids in human and animal tissues. N-(d-Ribopyranosyl)taurine sodium salt (T-Rib) is a newly synthesized taurine-carbohydrate derivative from the reaction between taurine and ribose. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the toxicity of a single oral dose of T-Rib in mice to verify its safety profile. N-(d-Ribopyranosyl)taurine sodium salt was orally administered at a dose of 0, 2,000, and 5,000 mg/kg body weight (BW) to 12 male and 12 female ICR mice. The mortality rate, clinical signs of toxicity, and BW were monitored for 14 days. After sacrificing, histological examination of liver tissue was performed using the paraffin method. All mice appeared to be healthy and normal throughout the observation period. No mortality and no abnormal clinical signs were observed in the experimental groups. Furthermore, no abnormal changes in BW and microscopic liver histology were found in the experimental groups. From the results of this study, we suggest that the administration of a single oral dose of T-Rib is not toxic to ICR mice at the highest tested dose of 5,000 mg/kg BW. Further studies on the toxicity of repeated oral doses are needed to prove the safety of T-Rib for its development as an ingredient of health functional food (HFF).