Evaluation of acute and sub-chronic oral toxicities of Neoneaster in rats.

Jaundice is a condition caused by the elevation of bilirubin level in the blood. Due to the neurological and neurodevelopmental sequalae of jaundice in newborns, the high cost of the treatment, and the side effects of the currently used therapies, novel therapeutically approaches are needed. Purgative manna (Shir-e-Khesht) has been used in Persian traditional medicine to reduce serum bilirubin levels of neonates. Neoneaster® is a natural health product formulated by a unique method from the manna of Cotoneaster nummularius Fisch. & C.A.Mey. for treating neonatal jaundice and managing constipation. The main component of Neoneaster®, mannitol, is an osmotic laxative which could increase intestinal transit and reduce the re-absorption of bilirubin in the enterohepatic cycle. We conducted this study to investigate acute and sub-chronic oral toxicities of Neoneaster in Wistar rats. In the acute oral toxicity test, based on OECD 423 we administered Neoneaster to the Wistar rats at doses of 5, 50, 300, and 2000 mg/kg(OECD, 2002). Toxicological effects, including mortality and behavioral changes, were recorded for 14 days and compared to the control group. We also carried out histopathological assessments of the tissues of liver, heart, kidney, and spleen after this period. To evaluate sub-chronic toxicity, while administering 2000 mg/kg of Neoneaster daily to the Wistar rats, we recorded for changes in mortality and behavior for 45 days and compared these to the values of the control group. We also carried out biochemical, hematological, and histopathological assessments after this period. In both acute and sub-chronic oral toxicity tests, no mortalities, behavioral abnormalities, and histological signs of toxicity was observed in any of the administered doses in comparison to the control group. The percentage of weight gains in acute toxicity test and the weight gain in sub-chronic test were not significant (P>0/05). There were also no significant differences in hematological and biochemical markers (P>0/05). Based on our finding, Neoneaster can be classified as category 5 in the Globally Harmonized Chemical Classification and Labeling System (GHS) as its Lethal Dose 50 (LD50) is higher than 2000 mg/kg. This study suggests that Neoneaster is safe and can be classified as category 5 in the GHS system.

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Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Aras Pharmaceuticals Ltd. provided funding and support for the study, drafting of the manuscript, and creation of the figures. Aras Pharmaceuticals Ltd. sponsored the design and conduct of the studies; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; as well as coordinating the preparation, review, and approval of the manuscript. Nima Aramipour is the inventors and patent holders of the Neoneaster® botanical drug. Nima Aramipour, Mohammad Saber, and Naser-Aldin Lashgari work at Aras Pharmaceuticals Ltd. at the time of writing the manuscript.