薑黃對大鼠28天餵飼之安全性

Safety evaluation of turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) powder via oral gavage for 28 days in rats

"薑黃（Turmeric, Curcuma longa Linn.）含薑黃素（curcumin），經動物試驗得知薑黃素具抗腫瘤及護肝等多種功效，唯世界衛生組織與農糧組織（WHO/FAO）對長期食用薑黃之安全性仍有疑慮。本研究為探討國內薑黃之食用安全性，進行薑黃對大鼠（Sprague-Dawely, SD）之口服急毒性及28天餵飼毒性試驗。口服急毒性試驗以藥物之最高測試劑量5,000 mg/kg bw薑黃粉經胃管餵飼大鼠後，薑黃粉並未造成大鼠中毒或死亡。28天餵飼毒性試驗則以100（低）、500（中）及1,000（高）mg/kg bw薑黃粉為試驗組，另以1,000 mg/kg bw薑黃素（65-70 %純度，Sigma）為藥劑對照組，經胃管連續餵飼大鼠28天，結果顯示，薑黃粉及薑黃素亦未造成大鼠中毒或死亡。各組體重、每日飼料消耗量、血液相及白血球分類與對照組比較均無明顯差異。唯薑黃粉中及高劑量組血漿中之纖維蛋白原（fibrinogen, Fbg）含量則較對照組減少及凝固時間延長，前凝血酵素時間（prothrombin time, PT）及活化部份凝血激素時間（activated partial thromboplastin time, APTT）均有縮短（p＜0.05）。血清生化檢查各處理組肝功能指標，如麩氨酸氨基轉氨酶（aspartate aminotransferase, AST）、總膽紅素（total bilirubin）、膽固醇（cholesterol）、三酸甘油酯（triglyceride）均有不同程度升高;腎功能指標，如尿素氮（blood urine nitrogen,BUN）、肌氨酸（creatinine）及血清離子含量亦有顯著性上升（p＜0.05）。尿液含白血球、上皮細胞及圓柱體數目則減少。薑黃粉高劑量組及薑黃素組雄鼠之肝及腎臟重量（%）有顯著性增重（p＜0.05）;病理檢查各處理組臟器雖無明顯肉眼病理變化，但雄鼠肝臟肝細胞空泡及腎臟絲球體含濾液之數目均有輕微增加。綜合以上結果，薑黃對大鼠並無口服急毒性，且經28天餵飼高劑量（1,000mg/kg）薑黃對大鼠亦無明顯毒性傷害。然而，薑黃對大鼠血漿Fbg及PT之影響，是否與傳統中藥使用薑黃為『活血化瘀』之藥理作用有關，仍有待進一步探討。"

"Turmeric (Curcuma longa Linn.) contains curcumin that has antioxidative effects on inflammatory and hepatic disorders, and inhibits carcinogen-induced cancers in animal models. However, the chronic effect of turmeric is a concern of the WHO/FAO. The objective of this study was to evaluate the oral acute and 28-day feeding toxicity of turmeric powder (TP) in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. Results revealed that the acute oral LD50 of TP was greater than 5000 mg/kg body weight (bw) in rats. In addition, the TP was administered by daily gavage in rats at doses of 0, 100, 500, and 1000 mg/kg bw for 28 days. The positive control was 1000 mg/kg bw of curcumin (65 %-70 %, Sigma). No toxic effects were found by evaluating clinical signs, body weight, feed consumption and efficiency, hematology, and autopsy in the TP- and curcumin-treated groups. TP but not curcumin decreased the content of fibrinogen, shortened the prothrombin time (PT), and activated the partial thromboplastin time (APTT) in plasma (p ＜ 0.05). Turmeric powder treatment increased organ weights of the liver and kidney in male rats (p ＜ 0.05) and elevated the levels of serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total bilirubin, cholesterol, triglyceride, blood urine nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, and ions (P^(3-), Ca^(2+), Mg^(2+), and Cl^-) in both sexes (p ＜ 0.05). Although, slight increases in hepatocytic vacuoles and glomerular exudate were found in the liver and kidney, however, no significant toxic effects were observed in treated male rats. These findings indicate that no acute oral toxicity was observed, and the higher daily intake (1000 mg/kg) of TP for 28 days also showed no significant toxic effects in rats. The changes in fibrinogen and PT in plasma after TP treatment might relate to the use of turmeric for anticoagulation in Chinese medicine; this effect needs to be illustrated by further studies."