Toxicity of Morinda Officinalis Oligosaccharides in Juvenile Rats After Repeated Administration

OBJECTIVE  To study the effects of continuous administration of Morinda officinalis oligosaccharides(MOO) for 6 weeks on the growth and development in juvenile SD rats, and to provide a reference for the safety of MOO application in adolescents.

METHODS One hundred and twenty juvenile SD rats, half male and half female, were randomly divided into excipient control group(blank aexcipient), and MOO low(50 mg·kg⁻¹), medium(160 mg·kg⁻¹), and high dose groups(500 mg·kg⁻¹). Excipient or MOO suspension was given by repeated intragastric administration, intragastric volume was 15 mL·kg⁻¹, once daily for 6 weeks with a 4-week recovery phase. Clinical symptoms, body weight and food intake, hematology and serum biochemistry, ophthalmology, urine indexes and functional observation battery(FOB) were performed during the trial. Dissected and measured the length and bone density of the tibia, weighed the major organs, and performed histopathological examination on the tissue.

RESULTS Compared with the excipient control group, there were no significant differences in clinical symptoms, body weight and food intake, hematology and serum biochemistry, ophthalmology, urine indexes, FOB, tibial length, bone density and organ weights, and no histopathological changes were observed in the MOO treatment groups.

CONCLUSION Under the conditions of this experiment, juvenile SD rats were orally administered by MOO for 6 weeks. A total of 500 mg·kg⁻¹ is the dosage without obvious adverse effect and approximately 50 times of the planned clinical dose. No additional safety risks are exsisted compared to adult animals.