Subchronic toxicity of herbal compound “Jiedu Huayu” granules in rats

BACKGROUND: “Jiedu Huayu” (JDHY) granules are traditional Chinese herbal compounds that have been used to treat severe liver injury for many years. The purpose of the current study is to evaluate the safety of JDHY granules. METHODS: Subchronic toxicity was tested in male and female rats that were orally administered three different doses (80, 100, and 130 g/kg/d) of JDHY for 13 weeks. Clinical signs, bodyweight, food consumption, hematological and biochemical parameters, organ coefficients, and histological changes were observed during the study. RESULTS: There were no significant changes in toxicity observed in either sex at any dose of JDHY granules treatment. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that repeated oral administration of JDHY granules at dosage levels of ≤130 g/kg/d can be considered safe.