Safety Profile for Evaluation of Berberine in Sprague- Dawley Rats: Effects on Renal, Liver and Myelopoietic Functions

The study was designed to investigate the effect of berberine toxicity on liver enzymes, renal function, serum uric acid and blood cell counts of Sprague-Dawley rats. For this purpose, twenty Sprague-Dawley rats were divided in two groups. Group A (n=10) was given distilled water and Group B (n=10) wassupplemented berberine hydrochloride with dose of 75 mg/kg body weight/day. 24 weeks post-treatment, blood samples were collected by cardiac puncture from both groups and tested for Hb (%), WBC, RBC and platelet counts, SGPT, alkaline phosphatse, serum uric acid, blood urea and serum creatinine. All thenumerical data were expressed as mean± SD. The values in two groups were analyzed with help of unpaired t-test. A p-value ˂ 0.05 was considered significant. After 24 weeks of treatment with berberine hydrochloride, no significant differences were observed in Hb%, platelet count, liver enzymes and RFTs between twogroups. There was a significant increase in RBC count and reduction in serum uric acid and WBC count in experimental group as compared to control group. There were no significant untoward effects of berberine on platelet count, LFTs and RFTs of Spargue-Dawley rats except neutropenia.