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Context:Angelica sinensisL. (Umbelliferae) has medicinal properties. Objectives:The present study evaluates the haematopoietic effects ofA. sinensispolysaccharides (ASP) against lisinopril-induced anaemia. Materials and methods:Thirty healthy adult male albino rats were randomly divided into five groups (n = 6). Group I was control group. Group II was treated with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI, 20 mg/kg/day) to induce anaemia. In group III, erythropoietin (EPO, 100 IU/kg/each) was administered in combination with ACEI. Group IV was treated with ASP (1 g/kg/day), extracted fromA. sinensisroot caps. In Group V, ASP (1 g/kg/day) was treated with ACEI. After 28 days, blood and tissue samples were collected for haematological and histopathological analysis, respectively. Results:The results showed that ACEI significantly reduced the haemoglobin (Hb, 10.0 g/dL), packed cell volume (PCV, 39.5%), red blood cells (RBCs, 6.2 million/mm3), mean corpuscular volume (MCV, 53.5 fL) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH, 16.2 pg/cell) values. In the group treated with ASP, the Hb (13.7 g/dL) and RBCs (7.8 million/mm3) increased significantly (p < 0.05). The combination of ASP and ACEI led to the significant (p < 0.05) reduction in Hb (10.7 g/dL), PCV (33.3%), RBCs (6.0 million/mm3), MCV (54.42 fL) and MCH (16.44 pg/cell) values. While histopathological examination of the liver and kidney cells showed a mild degree of toxicity in the ASP-treated group. Conclusion:ASP has a potentiating effect on haematological parameters when given alone. However, when administered simultaneously with lisinopril, it showed an unfavourable effect with more complicated anaemia so it should not be used with ACEIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Toxicological screening of natural compounds for medicinal purposes. Objectives: The objective of this study is to evaluate the toxicity of methyl ferulate (MF), methylp-coumarate (MpC), and pulegone 1,2-epoxide (PE) within vitroandin vivoassays. Materials and methods: Thein vitrotoxicity of MF, MpC, and PE was assessed at a concentration of 10 mg/ml with the Ames assay using two strains ofSalmonella typhimuriumTA98 and TA100. Human red blood cells (RBC) were used to determine the hemolytic activity of these compounds. The cytotoxicity of above compounds was determined with brine shrimp lethality bioassay (BSLB) at the concentrations of 0.1–20 mg/ml. While dermal and ocular irritation studies were conducted on healthy rabbits (n = 8) for 96 and 12 h post-topical application of test compounds, respectively. Results: PE produced 6–8% hemolysis of RBCs at all the tested concentrations while MF and MpC produced 10–5% hemolysis up to 20 mg/ml, and 50–85% hemolysis at concentrations of 40 and 80 mg/ml, respectively. The Ames assay indicated that MF, MpC, and PE were non-mutagenic as the test values were not significantly higher as compared with background values of the assay. BSLB suggested the lethal concentration (LC50) values of MF, MpC, and PE as 4.38, 6.74, and 25.91 mg/ml, respectively.In vivoocular and dermal irritation scores of MF, MpC, and PE were comparable with ethanol (control) in rabbits indicating the non-irritant nature of these natural compounds. Conclusion: The present studies suggest that these compounds are non-toxic/non-irritant and might be used for medicinal purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]