Single Oral Dose Toxicity Study of an Alcohol Extract of Bumblebee, Bombus ignitus Larvae in Rats

The alcohol extract of the larvae of Bombus ignitus, otherwise known as the Bumblebee, was orally administered to rats at doses of 0, 0.04, 0.2, 1 or 2 g/kg as a single oral dose. There were no observed clinical signs or deaths related to treatment in all the groups tested. Therefore, the approximate lethal dose of the alcohol extract of B. ignitus was considered to be higher than 2 g/kg in rats. Mild decreases in body weight gain in male rats were observed dose-dependently within the B. ignitus treated groups over 2 weeks. Throughout the administration periods, no significant changes in diet consumption, ophthalmologic findings, clinical pathology (hematology, clinical chemistry and coagulation) or gross pathology were detected. Minor changes in male rats were found with in the hematological parameters in groups treated with the 0.04 g/kg, 1 g/kg or 2 g/kg of B. ignitus larvae extract, however, all the changes observed were within the physiological range. From these results, it was concluded that there was no evidence of specific toxicity related to the ingestion of alcohol extract of B. ignitus larvae.