Two-Week Repeated Oral Dose Toxicity Study of Mantidis Ootheca Water Extract in C57BL/6 Mice

Background. Mantidis Ootheca (MO), described as the ootheca of Hierodula patellifera Serville, 1839, Tenodera angustipennis (Saussure, 1869), or Statilia maculate (Thunberg, 1784) in Korean Herbal Pharmacopoeia, is an important herbal material that has been traditionally used for treating several medical conditions including renal failure, spermatorrhea, and pediatric enuresis in Korea. Objective. The present study investigated the potential subacute toxicity of MO water extract during a 2-week repeated oral administration of doses of 0, 50, 150, or 450 mg/kg/day to C57BL/6 male mice by gavage. Methods. The following parameters were examined during the study period: mortality, clinical signs, body weight, hematology, serum biochemistry, gross findings, organ weight, and histopathology. All the mice were euthanized at the end of the treatment period. Results. No treatment-related changes in mortalities, clinical signs, body weight, gross finding, and organ weight change were detected after 14 days of oral MO extract administration. In addition, no meaningful MO extract treatment-related changes were observed in the hematological, serum biochemical, and histopathological parameters compared with the normal control group following treatment with doses of up to 450 mg/kg/day. Conclusion. Based on these findings, we concluded that treatment of mice with the water extract of MO did not result in significant toxicity and, therefore, it could be considered safe for further pharmacological studies.