Toxicological effects of acute and repeated doses (180 days) of fruits from Malpighia emarginata (acerola) in rodents

• Published in: Toxicon (Oxford) 2024-01, Vol.237, p.107550-107550, Article 107550
• Main Authors: Barichello, Ângela, Capoani, Giovana T., Comachio, Flavia M., Kielb, Guilherme G., Colpani, Gustavo L., Fiori, Márcio A., Gutiérrez, Max V., Zanetti, Micheli, Silva Corralo, Vanessa da, Roman Junior, Walter A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: acerolas; acute toxicity; Acute toxicity test; ascorbic acid; cholesterol; chromatography; death; food preservation; freeze drying; fruits; males; Malpighia emarginata; Medicinal plants; Natural products; neutrophils; plant extracts; pulp; Repeated dose toxicity test; Rodents; spectral analysis; spectroscopy; toxicity testing
• ISSN: 0041-0101; 1879-3150
• DOI: 10.1016/j.toxicon.2023.107550

Malpighia emarginata has a high amount of vitamin C with pharmacological or food preservation potential. However, despite its wide use and application possibilities its toxicity in repeated doses and for a long time (6 months) has not yet been studied. In this context, this study aimed to evaluate the acute toxicity and repeated doses from fruits of this plant. The extract was produced with the pulp (EMe) of the lyophilized fruit and submitted to chromatographic and spectroscopic analysis (HPLC and ESI-IT-MSn). In the acute test, the EMe was administered orally and parenterally to rodents (mice and rats) for 14 days, at a dose of 2000 mg/kg. Subsequently, the repeated dose toxicity test was administered orally for 180 days at doses of 50, 300 or 1000 mg/kg. The HPLC assay revealed a high concentration of vitamin C (16.3%), and spectroscopic analyses pointed to the presence of five other polyphenolic compounds. In the acute test, the plant extract showed no apparent toxicity or lethality in rodents. The LD50 was estimated to be greater than 2000 mg/kg and falls into category 5 (low toxicity). In the repeated dose assay, there was no evidence of toxicity, and no differences were observed in water intake, food, weight development, or behavior of the animals in relation to the vehicle group (water). However, hematological and biochemical evaluations pointed out some nonconformities in the levels of cholesterol, leukocytes, and neutrophils of the male rats, but overall, these results did not reveal significant toxicity. Therefore, the Level of Unobserved Adverse Effects (NOAEL) was 1000 mg/kg. Together, the results suggest that the extract obtained from the fruits of M. emarginata does not present representative toxicity in rodents. [Display omitted] •Data on oral and parenteral acute toxicity of M. emarginata in rodents.•Toxicological findings of M. emarginata in rodents of both sexes submitted the study of repeated doses (180 days).•Despite the nonconformities, the fruits of M. emarginata (high vit C values) do not promote toxicity in repeated.•NOAEL was determined at a dose of 1000 mg/kg/day body weight.