ACUTE TOXICITY OF A POLYSACCHARIDE-BASED HYDROGEL FROM SEEDS OF OCIMUM BASILICUM

The toxicity of a hydrogelable polysaccharide from the seeds of Ocimum basilicum (syn.: sweet basil) was evaluated by carrying out acute oral toxicity studies to prove it a safe excipient for oral drug delivery systems. Toxicity studies were conducted on white albino rats and white albino rabbits. The animals were divided into four groups (Groups A-D). The animals (rats and rabbits) of Group A were left untreated and marked as control, whereas Groups B-D were marked as treated groups. Basil seed hydrogel (BSH) was given to these treated groups (Groups B-D) in amounts of 50, 300 and 2000 mg/Kg body weight of the animals, respectively. The treated and control group animals were monitored to observe their general health, food and water consumption, body weight and behavioral pattern throughout the study period of 14 days. On day 15, blood samples of all the animals were collected for hematology and biochemical analyses. The gross necropsy of vital organs was carried out for histopathology. BSH was also evaluated for dermal and ocular irritation. No anomalies were noticed in the general health of the treated animals. The hematological and biochemical parameters of treated animals (rats and rabbits) were found to be comparable with those of the control group. The histopathology of vital organs unveiled normal cellular architecture without any lesions of the organs, reflecting the safety of BSH. The safety profiles of BSH for topical application onto skin and eyes were also established. The topical application of BSH to the skin of rabbits reflected no signs of irritation or allergy. Similarly, no signs of iritis were observed on instillation of BSH into the eyes of rabbits. LD50 for BSH for rats was estimated to be 9 g/Kg body weight, while that for rabbits was not calculated.