Acute and subchronic toxicity assessment of debitterized fenugreek powder in the mouse and rat

Increased human use of fenugreek seeds (Trigonella foenum graecum) entails the generation of toxicity data in experimental animals. In this investigat ion, toxic effects of debitterized fenugreek (DFG) powder have been assesse d following acute and subchronic regimens in mice and rats. In the acute st udy, DFG powder intragastrically administered to albino mice (CFT-Swiss, Mu s musculus) and albino rats (CFT-Wistar, Rattus norvegicus) of both sexes f ailed to induce any signs of toxicity or mortality up to a maximum practica l dosage of 2 and 5 g/kg body weight, respectively. Further, no significant alterations either in relative organ weights or their histology were disce rnible at terminal autopsy. In the 90-day subchronic study, DFG fed to wean ling rats of both sexes at dietary doses of 0, 1, 5 and 10% in a pure diet had no effect either on the daily food intake or growth. Terminal autopsy r evealed no alterations in relative organ weights of various vital organs, o r their histoarchitecture. Haematological constants in DFG-fed rats were on par with those of controls. Further, biochemical measurements in serum and liver of DFG-fed rats revealed no appreciable changes in various parameter s such as enzyme levels of GPT, GOT and ALP, as well as many serum constitu ents such as proteins, cholesterol, urea and creatinine at any of the dieta ry levels. From these results, it may be concluded that DFG does not produc e any significant acute and cumulative toxicity at the doses administered, as reflected by the various parameters investigated. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd All rights reserved.