Four-week repeated dose oral toxicity study of gum ghatti in rats

Abstract

We investigated the potential toxicity of gum ghatti, which is added to food for emulsifying, thickening, and stabilizing, after 4 weeks of repeated oral administration at a dose of 8000 mg/kg/day to male and female SD rats. Although food consumption was significantly reduced in males in the gum ghatti group compared with those in the distilled water group from Day 18 onwards, the change was minor, there was no pathological evidence of digestive tract abnormalities, and there were no significant changes in body weight; therefore, the change in food consumption was judged to be of no toxicological significance. Hematology and blood biochemistry revealed statistically significant differences in some parameters between the gum ghatti group and the distilled water group. These changes were all within the normal range of physiological variation and therefore were not considered to represent the effects of gum ghatti. In addition, general signs, body weight, and pathology showed no changes in either sex attributable to gum ghatti. Thus, all changes observed were of no toxicological significance and within the normal range of physiological variation, suggesting gum ghatti has no toxic effects in rats.