Acute and sub-acute toxicity study of amrtadi churna

Amrtadi Churna is an Ayurvedic polyherbal formulation containing three herbs viz., Amalaki (Emblica officinalis), Gokshur (Tribulus terrestris) and Guduchi (Tinospora cordifolia). It is prescribed in India for immunomodulation and treating hyperacidity. The present work reports the acute and sub-acute toxicity assessment of Amrtadi Churna on experimental animals to rule whether it might produce toxicity on herb-herb interactions by combining its ingredient. The results showed that, the single administration of high dose (5000 mg/kg) of the Churna neither induced mortality nor any adverse toxicity signs in rats, suggesting its practically non-toxic nature in the therapeutic doses. Sub-acute toxicity testing results of hematology, serum biochemistry and organ histology showed that the product did not induce any toxic signs at the tested dose levels. However, it produced an apparently harmless hyperbilirubinemia without any signs of liver damage. There were no major gender specific variations except a few hematological parameters. It was concluded that, Amrtadi Churna could be relatively safe at therapeutic dose levels, ruling out any serious side effects by the interaction of its three herbal ingredients.