Acute and Sub-Chronic Toxicity Evaluation of Aqueous Extract of Phoenix Dactylifera Seeds in Wistar Rats

Date, Phoenix dactylifera, is a commonly used food in arid and semiarid regions of the world including Iran. Date seeds, are low-cost agriculture by-products and used for several medicinal uses and animal food, however, there are no records on its likely toxic effects. To investigate the safety of P. dactylifera, we investigated its acute and sub-chronic toxicity in Wistar rats in both sexes. Animals were treated with four different single doses (5g/kg) of P. dactylifera extract oral gavage (per oral, p.o.), and checked for symptoms of toxicity two weeks after dispensation. In the sub-chronic toxicity study, P. dactylifera seeds were administered in three different doses (500, 1000, 1500 mg/kg) through 45 days. Fatality, clinical symptoms, body weight alteration, gross findings, organ weights, hematological and biochemical criteria, and histological specifications were screened all along the study. We found no fatality or morbidity in clinical manifestations, corpse weight, or necropsy evidence in none of the rats in the acute study. Regarding the outcome of the sub-chronic assay, a meaningful decline in urea concentration in male animals and no significant differences observed in other hematological criteria in both sexes. No significant histopathological difference in lung and heart tissue of different groups were observed but there are kidney cortex congestion and hepatocyte focal degeneration in female and male rats taking elevated doses (1500 mg/kg) of palm kernel extract, respectively. Analyses of the obtained results with the information of signs, behaviour, and health monitoring could lead to the conclusion that the no observed adverse effect level of P. dactylifera was defined to be 1000 mg/kg for male and female rats.