---

In vitro and in vivo evaluation of systemic and genetic toxicity of Citrus unshiu peel

Authors Park, Hwayong; Hwang, Youn-Hwan; Choi, Jang-Gi; Ma, Jin Yeul

Journal JOURNAL OF ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY , APR 6 2018,:215

DOI 10.1016/j.jep.2017.12.029 PubMed 29274356

Abstract Ethnopharmacological relevance: The peel of Citrus unshiu Markovich fruits (CUP), called Jinpi in Korea, and, Chenpi in China, has been used for the treatment of respiratory and blood circulation disorders in traditional oriental medicine (TOM). Despite its widespread uses in TOM, no information on the safety of CUP has been reported. Thus, genotoxicity and systemic toxicity of CUP were evaluated in the current studies.Materials and methods: We conducted a toxicological evaluation of CUP water extracts using acute and sub chronic (13-week repeated-dose) toxicity tests and three genotoxicity assays (bacterial reverse mutation, mammalian chromosomal aberration, and micronuclei formation).Results: In acute and subchronic toxicity tests, both the median lethal dose (LD50) and no-observed-adverse effect level (NOAEL) were more than 4000 mg/kg/day in rats. None of the genotoxicity assays revealed any mutagenicity or clastogenicity in in vitro and in vivo systems.Conclusion: CUP water extracts were found to be nongenotoxic under our testing conditions and had low acute and subchronic toxicity.

Species covered 柑橘 Citrus reticulata