Safety Assessment of Oral Toxicity Study of Black and Red Seed Grape Extract

Grape seed extract (GSE) is a complex mixture of several compounds, mostly represented by polyphenols and phenolic acids. The aim of present study was to determine the safe dose of GSE that can be used in mice model and to assess the potential toxicity that may be initiated by the different concentrations of this substance. Forty two mice were divided into 7 groups; groups 1 attended as control, whereas animals of groups 2, 3, 4 were treated with 200, 400, and 800 mg/kg b. w. of black grape seed respectively, and the remainder groups including 5, 6, and 7 were treated with 200, 400, and 800 mg/kg b. w. of red grape seed respectively.

The animals were examined daily for any sign revealing for activity alterations and toxicity along with their body weight measurement throughout experiment for 21 days. At the end of the study, the mice were euthanized and the liver, kidney, spleen, lung and the brains were collected for histopathological examination. The results gained from this study revealed that the 200 and 400 mg/kg b. w. doses of GSE were safe compared to the 800 mg/kg b. w. dose which resulted in reduction in body weight gain and histopathological changes. No death was occur in all groups. Key words: Albino mice, Black grape seed, Red grape seed; Sharbasher village. Introduction: Plants are able to produce a large number of chemical compounds with significant biological effects and they have been used to manufacture a wide variety of medicines since the creation of man.

Grapes, Vitis vinifera berries, consider as conven¬tional valued fruits in the world. The primary composition of grape pomace is skin, steam and seeds [4]. The chemical composition of the fresh grape is about 70-80% water and dissolved solids such as sugars, phenolic compounds, nitrogenous compounds, organic acids, minerals, aroma compounds, pectic substances. The unique combination of phytochemicals in grapes includes a variety of bioactive compounds such as simple phenolics, flavonoids, anthocyanins, stilbenes, proanthocyanidins, and vitamin E. Grape seeds consider as a waste product in industry and consist of protein, carbohydrates, lipid and 5- 8% of polyphenols depending on the type of grapes. Grape seed composition differs significantly in between different cultivars.

Furthermore, multiple environmental and biological factors, such as light, drought, high salinity, cold, metal ions, pollutants, xenobiotics, toxins, experimental manipulations, pathogenic infection and ageing of plants may affect yields and seed quality. A multitude of flavonoids are contained in GSE. The most abundant of these are the proanthocyanidins, which are oligomers of monomeric flavan-3-ol units linked by carbon-carbon bonds.

The flavonoids are the most abundant biologically active phytonutrients among the polyphenols found in grapes, possessing cardioprotective, neuroprotective, antimicrobial, antiaging cardioprotective, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer and antimicrobial properties. Oral toxicity studies dealing with grape seed safety in experimental animals is lacking in Kurdstan region. There for, the main objective of this study was to determine the oral toxicity of a water-extracted grape seed (black and red) extract at different doses in mice, by means of clinical observations and evaluation of histopathological changes in multiple organs.