Lab Anim Res.  2015 Sep;31(3):125-133. 10.5625/lar.2015.31.3.125.

Toxicity of antioxidative extract collected from Styela clava tunics in ICR mice

• Koh EK
• Sung JE
• Kim JE
• Go J
• Song SH
• Lee HA
• Son HJ
• Jung YJ
• Lim Y
• Hwang DY

• KMID: 2312129
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5625/lar.2015.31.3.125

Abstract

Some polymers and bioactive compounds derived from Styela clava tunic (SCT) have been reported as traditional medicine for the treatment of inflammation, oxidative stress and surgical wounds although there is little scientific evidence of their liver and kidney toxicity. To investigate the toxicity of ethanol extracts of SCT (EtSCT) in the liver and kidney of ICR mice, alterations in related markers including body weight, organ weight, urine composition, liver pathology and kidney pathology were analyzed following oral administration of 50 and 100 mg/kg body weight/day of EtSCT for 14 days. EtSCT showed a high level of free radical scavenging activity for DPPH (93.1%) and NO (16.2%) as well as the presence of 14.8 mg/mL of flavonoids and 36.2 mg/mL of phenolics, while EtSCT treated groups did not show any significant alterations in the body and organ weight, clinical phenotypes, urine parameters or mice mortality when compared with the vehicle treated group. In addition, constant levels of serum biochemical markers including alanine phosphatase (ALP), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and serum creatinine (CRE) were maintained. Moreover, no specific histopathological features induced by most toxic compounds were observed in liver and kidney sections stained with hematoxilin and eosin. Therefore, the present results indicate that EtSCT with strong antioxidant activity cannot induce any specific toxicity in liver and kidney organs of ICR at doses of 100 mg/kg body weight/day.

Keyword

Styela clava tunic; hepatotoxicity; nephrotoxicity; antioxidant activity; histopathology

MeSH Terms

Administration, Oral
Alanine
Alanine Transaminase
Animals
Aspartate Aminotransferases
Biomarkers
Blood Urea Nitrogen
Body Weight
Creatinine
Eosine Yellowish-(YS)
Ethanol
Flavonoids
Inflammation
Kidney
Liver
Medicine, Traditional
Mice
Mice, Inbred ICR*
Mortality
Organ Size
Oxidative Stress
Pathology
Phenol
Phenotype
Polymers
Wounds and Injuries
Alanine
Alanine Transaminase
Aspartate Aminotransferases
Creatinine
Eosine Yellowish-(YS)
Ethanol
Flavonoids
Phenol
Polymers

Figure

• 

  Figure 1 Preparation procedures of SCT powder and alteration in body weight. (A) Preparation procedures and analysis of SCT powder. (a-c) Following collection from the beach, samples were treated with 10% H2O2 solution and then subjected to milling. (d) Particle size analyses, showing individual and cumulative distribution of particles at the same time. (B) The body weight of subset groups was measured using an electrical balance.

• 

  Figure 2 Effects of EtSCT treatment on histological features of the liver and kidney. (A) Liver tissues were stained with H&E and cellular morphology was viewed at 400× magnification. (B) Kidney tissues were stained with H&E, and cellular morphology was viewed at 400× magnification. Control; no treated group, Vehicle; vehicle treated group, LEtSCT; low dose of EtSCT treated group, HEtSCT; high dose of EtSCT treated group.

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