Lab Anim Res.  2012 Dec;28(4):229-238. 10.5625/lar.2012.28.4.229.

Toxicity of red Liriope platyphylla manufactured by steaming process on liver and kidney organs of ICR mice

• Choi SI
• Kim JE
• Hwang IS
• Lee HR
• Lee YJ
• Kwak MH
• Son HJ
• Lee HS
• Lee JS
• Kang BC
• Hwang DY

• KMID: 1431405
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5625/lar.2012.28.4.229

Abstract

Red Liriope platyphylla (RLP) produced by steaming process has been reported to enhance the secretion of insulin and nerve growth factor (NGF). However, there has been no report on the toxicity of RLP in the specific organs of mice. To investigate the toxic effect of RLP, we tried to observe a significant alteration on body weight, food/water intake, organ weight, liver pathology and kidney pathology in female ICR mice received 12.5, 25.0 and 50.0 mg/kg body weight/day of RLP via gavage for 10 days. Out of seven organs including brain, heart, lung, liver, kidney, spleen and ovary, two organs (heart and lung) showed significantly decreased weights in the medium dosage RLP-treated group, whereas weights of other organs were maintained at constant levels in all dosage groups. In the liver toxicity analysis, no significant increase of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and aspartate amino-transferase (AST) were detected in any RLP-treated group compared to vehicle-treated group. The specific pathological changes induced by most of toxic compounds were not observed in the liver in microscopic examination. Furthermore, in the kidney toxicological analysis, a significant enhancement of the blood urea nitrogen (BUN) concentration was detected in the high dosage RLP-treated group compared to the vehicle-treated group. However, the serum creatinine (CA) concentration on the serum biochemistry as well as the pathological changes in microscopic examination were not significantly different between the vehicle- and RLP-treated groups. Therefore, these results suggest that RLP does not induce any specific toxicity in liver or kidney tissues of mice, although the BUN level slightly increased in 50.0 mg/kg of RLP-treated group.

Keyword

Red Liriope platyphylla; steaming process; toxic effect; liver; kidney

MeSH Terms

Alanine Transaminase
Alkaline Phosphatase
Animals
Aspartic Acid
Biochemistry
Blood Urea Nitrogen
Body Weight
Brain
Creatinine
Female
Heart
Humans
Insulin
Kidney
Liver
Lung
Mice
Mice, Inbred ICR
Nerve Growth Factor
Organ Size
Ovary
Spleen
Steam
Weights and Measures
Alanine Transaminase
Alkaline Phosphatase
Aspartic Acid
Creatinine
Insulin
Nerve Growth Factor
Steam

Figure

• 

  Figure 1 Manufacturing process of RLP. (A) Schematic process for RLP manufacture comprising two repeating steps (3 hr of steaming and 24 hr of air-drying) carried out a total of seven times. (B) Alteration of RLP color in each repeated step.

• 

  Figure 2 Composition of main components (A) and total phenolic compounds in LP and RLP (B).

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  Figure 3 Effects of RLP on body and organ weights of ICR mice. At 24 hr after final RLP treatment, final body weight (A) and each organ weights (B-H) of ICR mice were measured daily using an electronic balance. Data represent the mean±SD from three replicates. *P<0.05 is the significance level compared to vehicle-treated group.

• 

  Figure 4 Effects of RLP on liver toxicity in ICR mice. Blood was collected from abdominal veins of vehicle- and RLP-treated mice. Serum concentrations of ALP (Aa), AST (Ab), ALT (Ac), and LDH (Ad) were analyzed in duplicate using a serum biochemical analyzer as described in Materials and Methods. (B) Liver tissue of ICR mice was prepared on a histological slide, and cellular morphology was viewed at 200× magnification. Data represent the mean±SD from three replicates. *P<0.05 is the significance level compared to vehicle-treated group.

• 

  Figure 5 Effects of RLP on kidney toxicity in ICR mice. Blood was collected from abdominal veins of vehicle- and RLP-treated mice. Serum concentrations of BUN (Aa) and CA (Ab) were analyzed in duplicate using a serum biochemical analyzer as described in Materials and Methods. (B) Cortex (Ba-h) and medulla regions (Bi-l) of kidney tissue of ICR mice was prepared on a histological section, and the cellular morphology was viewed at 200× magnification. Data represent the mean±SD from three replicates. *P<0.05 is the significance level compared to vehicle-treated group.

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