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ABSTRACT

Pfaffia glomerata (Spreng.) Pedersen (PG) is one of the species referred to as ‘Brazilian ginseng’, widely commercialized in Brazil. Acute and repeated dose toxicological evaluations of PG lyophilized root extract was conducted in young male and female Wistar rats. The acute test did not result in mortality or alter the weight evolution of the animals, but it led to a decrease in heart weight in animals orally treated with doses of 4.3 and 5.8 g/kg. In the repeated dose test, one death occurred in the control group of females; organ weights were equivalent in all groups, and anatomopathological analysis did not show treatment-related changes. Hematological data showed significant increases in red blood cell count, hematocrit, and hemoglobin content in females, which may express a possible hematopoietic stimulating effect of the extract; in biochemical data, an increase in CPK values in treated males and a decrease in values of renal function tests, such as uric acid, urea, and creatinine, especially in males, were highlighted, among several other significant data. Overall, at the doses employed, low toxicity is attributed to the PG lyophilized root extract in male and female rats.

Keywords: Pfaffia glomerata; suma; Brazilian ginseng; toxicity studies