Pranee Chavalittumrong, Songphol Chivapat, Sadudee Rattanajarasroj, Somkiat Punyamong, Anchalee Chuthaputti, and Chada Phisalaphong

pp. 633 - 647

Abstract

A six-month chronic toxicity study of curcuminoids extracted from the powdered dried rhizome of
Curcuma longa L. was performed in six groups of 15 Wistar rats of each sex. Water control group received
5 ml of water/kg BW/day, while tragacanth control group received 5 ml of 0.5% tragacanth suspension/
kg BW/day orally. Three treatment groups were given the suspension of curcuminoids powder at the doses
of 10, 50 and 250 mg/kg BW/day, which were 1, 5 and 25 times of the proposed therapeutic dose. The fourth
treatment group, or the recovery group, also received 250 mg/kg BW/day of curcuminoids for six months,
but two weeks of no curcuminoids treatment elapsed before the time of sacrifice. It was found that the growth
rate of male rats receiving curcuminoids 50 mg/kg BW/day was significantly higher than that of the tragacanth control group. Curcuminoids did not produce any significant dose-related changes of hematological
parameters. In the group of male animals receiving 250 mg/kg BW/day of curcuminoids, actual and relative
liver weights and the level of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were significantly higher than those of the two
controls, but the ALP level was still within a normal range. There appeared to be a higher incidence of mild degree of liver fatty degeneration and adrenocortical fatty degeneration in this group of animals; however,
the incidence was not significantly different from that of the two controls. The results indicated that longterm administration of curcuminoids at therapeutic dose (10 mg/kg BW/day) did not produce any toxicity
in rats. However, at higher doses, it may affect the function and morphology of the liver in a reversible
manner.