Study on toxicity and LC50 of some medicinal plants using Artemia salina test

From the past until now, the plants and their products have been used as food and medicine in the nutrition and treatment of diseases in humans and animals. However, in the popular perception, the herbal nature of a medicinal or food product was equivalent to its lack of toxicity and safety, and the side effects and toxicity of the plants and their products have been less studied. Therefore, the use of a system that incorporates the bioethical considerations, speed, simplicity, and at the same time economic considerations is necessary to estimate the toxicity and determine the LC50 of medicinal plants before consumption. The aim of this study was to use the organism Artemia salina in the evaluation of toxicity and LC50 of some medicinal plants. In this study, the extract toxicity of medicinal plants Rosa damascena Mill., Descurainia sophia (L.) Schur, Ferula assa-foetida L., Colchicum autumnale L., Allium sativum L., and Taxus baccata L. was assessed by determining the LC50 index using the Artemia salina test. The extracts were prepared by the maceration technique. The Artemia salina cysts were hatched out in the artificial seawater at 27 °C and the larvae were then exposed to the plant extracts at the different concentrations (10, 100, and 1000 mg.ml-1) for 24 hours. The concentration needed to kill half of the larvae (LC50) was calculated. The LC50 levels of D. sophia, A. sativum, R. damascena, T. baccata, C. autumnale, and F. assa-foetida were obtained 4812, 3316, 997, 44.07, 10.44, and 2.37 mg.ml-1, respectively. Overall, the results showed that A. salina test could be used as a model in determining the LC50 index for the toxicological tests of herbal products.