Subchronic toxicological evaluation of brea gum (Parkinsonia preacox) as a food additive in BALB/c mice

摘要

Brea gum is a phloematic exudate from Parkinsonia praecox,an autoctonous tree that grows in the arid areas of Argentina. In this work,we propose its potential as a food additive. However,as no toxicological safety evaluation of brea gum has yet been reported,this preliminary study was conducted to evaluate its long-term toxicity over a 120-day period in BALB/c mice fed with brea gum at various levels in the diet. The results showed that animals on diets containing up to 5% brea gum were healthy,exhibiting growth curves similar to controls for both males (P=0.9138) and females (P=0.9459),thereby indicating that feed intake and utilization was not affected. A histopathological examination and weight recording of liver,kidneys,and intestine did not reveal any microscopic abnormalities or adverse toxicological effect (weights respect to control: P>0.1). Moreover,hematological parameters and enzyme activities were within the normal values previously reported for mice. Our findings suggest that feeding brea gum at levels up to 5% to BALB/c mice do not exert any toxicological effects,supporting its potential use as a food additive for human consumption.