Safety evaluation of the aqueous extract Kothala himbutu (Salacia reticulata) stem in the hepatic gene expression profile of normal mice using DNA microarrays.

Kothala himbutu is a traditional Ayurvedic medicinal plant used to treat diabetes. We aimed to evaluate the safety of an aqueous extract of Kothala himbutu stem (KTE) in normal mice. The mice were divided into two groups: one was administered KTE and the other distilled water for 3 weeks. During the test period, the groups showed no significant differences in body weight gain or plasma parameters, such as fasting blood glucose level, oral glucose tolerance test, or aspartate transaminase (AST) or alanine transaminase (ALT) activity. DNA microarray analysis revealed that expression of genes of known function, such as those for the stress response, ribosomal proteins, transcription, cell function, the inflammatory/immune response, and metabolism (xenobiotic, glutathione, etc.) remained largely unaffected by KTE. However some genes such as catechol-o-methyltransferase and succinyl-CoA synthetase were regulated by KTE, indicating that KTE is not toxic to normal mice and might be effective as a functional food.