ASSESSMENT OF TOXICITY AND ANTIPROLIFERATIVE ACTIVITY OF PUTRANJIVA ROXBURGHII WALL.: A POTENTIAL THERAPEUTIC AGENT FOR THE TREATMENT OF ENDOMETRIOSIS

The utility of herbal medicines incresed for curative purposes in the past few years. They serve as a curative alternative for a significant section of the worldwide community. Nonetheless, assessing the reliability of such facilities continues to be challenging in guaranteeing their safe use. Acute and subacute toxicity studies were conducted in a rat model. The cytotoxicity assay and AO/PI staining of HALEPR was carried out in an endometrial cell. Acute toxicity was evaluated in female Charles Foster rats over 14 days, revealing no mortality or severe adverse effects, suggesting a Lethal Dose 50 (LD50) above 2000 mg/kg. Subacute toxicity was assessed over 28 days with no significant changes (P < 0.05) in body weight, feed consumption, water intake, or biochemical parameters. Histological examination of organ tissues indicated no notable differences between treated and control groups. The antiproliferative activity of HALEPR was investigated using primary endometrial cell cultures. The 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay demonstrated a significant apoptotic effect with an IC50 of 41.46 µg/mL. This result was further confirmed by acridine orange/propidium iodide (AO/PI) staining, which showed clear signs of apoptosis in treated endometrial cells. In conclusion, HALEPR showed no obvious signs of toxicity in rats when dosed orally for up to 4 weeks and exhibited potent antiproliferative activity in endometrial cell cultures. These findings indicate that HALEPR could be considered a promising therapeutic agent for endometriosis treatment, with further studies needed to explore its potential clinical applications.