Background: Lemon verbena (Lippia citriodora) has a long history as a folk remedy for the common cold, asthma, colic, fever, diarrhea, indigestion, insomnia, and anxiety. The increasing use of Lippia citriodora and the lack of scientific data on its safety profile make necessary an evaluation of its toxicity.

Verbascoside or acteoside is the most abundant phenylethanoid glycoside that possesses health beneficial pharmacological activities, including anti-nociceptive, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer. Due to the wide range of pharmacological activities of verbascoside and insufficient data on the safety profile, the acute, subacute and cellular toxicity of verbascoside was determined. The acute and subacute toxicity of verbascoside was evaluated in mice after single intraperitoneal injection at the dose range of 0, 1, 2 and 5 g kgG 1 b.wt. (acute model) and 21 days administration at the dose range of 0, 10, 30 and 60 mg kgG 1 b.wt. (subacute model). In MTT assay, HepG2 and NIH cells were exposed to different concentrations of verbascoside. According to result, the LD 50 value of verbascoside was found to be greater than 5 g kgG 1 . In subacute toxicity study, no statistically significant differences were observed in the values of hematological, biochemical and pathological parameters in comparison with control group. The cytotoxicity assay revealed that the viability in all groups were greater than the IC 50 value. In conclusion, the results from the present study elucidate that verbascoside is well tolerated for both single and chronic administration and does not produce any toxic effects or deaths in animals.