Study on toxicity of danshensu in beagle dogs after 3-month continuous intravenous infusion

Abstract

Danshensu (3-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl) lactic acid), a natural phenolic acid, is isolated from root of Salvia miltiorrhiza, and is widely used as a traditional Chinese medicine for treatment of various cardiovascular diseases. In the present study, toxicity of danshensu was evaluated in male and female dogs after 3-month continuous intravenous infusion. Beagle dogs were treated with danshensu at doses of 17, 50, and  150 mg/kg/day, and observed for 90 days followed by recovery periods. Measurements included clinical observations, body weight, food consumption, temperature, electro-cardiography (EGC), hematology, blood chemistry, urinalysis, gross necropsy, organ weight, and histopathology. No significant adverse effects on these parameters were observed. The only treatment-related finding was a hard knot at injection site observed in the  150 mg/kg group after 2–3 weeks continuous administration, and returned to normal after 3–4 days withdrawal. From these results, it might be concluded that danshensu did not produce any significant cumulative toxicity at the doses administered, as reflected by the various parameters investigated.

Keywords::

• Danshensu
• dogs
• intravenous infusion
• subchronic toxicity

Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by Shandong Luye Pharmaceutical Ltd. Company. The authors thank Dalei Li, Jinli Yu, Bing Han, and Wenhua Shi for their technical assistance.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflict of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.