Background: Phyto-medicines have been used to treat various diseases since ancient times. However, several studies have reported the toxicity of some medicinal plant preparations. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the in vivo acute and subacute toxicity of an ethanolic extract of medicinal plants, “VIROSCOPE®”, produced by Viroscope SARL-U in Lomé, Togo. Materials and Methods: Acute toxicity assessment was conducted according to the “OECD guideline 423 for the assessment of the acute toxicity of chemicals.” This study focused on the ready-to-use VIROSCOPE® and on the concentrated extract obtained after evaporation. Subacute toxicity was assessed according to the “OECD guideline 407 for the study of subacute toxicity of chemicals.” Control rats; VIROSCOPE®; solvents; 100, 500, and 1000 mg/kg of the dry extract of VIROSCOPE® dissolved in drinking water were tested.The mortality rate, toxicity symptoms, food and water consumption, and changes in body weight were monitored. Biochemical and haematological parameters were also measured. Furthermore, histopathological analysis of hepatic and renal cells was conducted. Results : The median lethal dose (LD50) was > 5000 mg/kg. Repeated doses of the trial drug over a long period of 28 days had no major risk. In addition, it did not induce any pathological variations in biochemical and haematological parameters. According to histopathological results, there was no significant harmful effect to liver and kidney cells. Conclusion: VIROSCOPE® can be considered safe and must be administered strictly according to the indicated dosages on its bottle.
Key words: VIROSCOPE®, Phytotherapy, acute toxicity, subacute toxicity
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