Food additive "lauric acid" possess non-toxic profile on biochemical, haematological and histopathological studies in female Sprague Dawley (SD) rats

Hidayat Ullah Khan; Khurram Aamir; Sreenivas Patro Sisinthy; Narendra Babu Shivanagere Nagojappa; Aditya Arya

doi:10.7717/peerj.8805

Food additive "lauric acid" possess non-toxic profile on biochemical, haematological and histopathological studies in female Sprague Dawley (SD) rats

PeerJ. 2020 Mar 31:8:e8805. doi: 10.7717/peerj.8805. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Hidayat Ullah Khan¹, Khurram Aamir¹, Sreenivas Patro Sisinthy¹, Narendra Babu Shivanagere Nagojappa¹, Aditya Arya^{2

3

4}

Affiliations

¹ School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Taylor's University, Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.
² Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Taylor's University, Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.
³ Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Parkville VIC, Australia.
⁴ Malaysian Institute of Pharmaceuticals and Nutraceuticals, (IPHARM), Bukit Gelugor Pulau, Pinang, Malaysia.

Abstract

Background: Lauric acid (LA), a common constituent of coconut oil, is used as food additives and supplements in various formulations. Despite various potential pharmacological properties, no scientific evidence on its dose-related toxicity and safety is available till date.

Objective: The current study was conducted to evaluate acute oral toxicity of LA on normal rats.

Methods: The study was conducted in accordance with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development guidelines (OECD 423) with slight modifications. LA was administered orally to female Sprague Dawley (SD) rats (n = 6/group) at a single dose of 300 and 2,000 mg/kg body weight, respectively, while normal control received vehicle only. Animals from all the three groups were monitored for any behavioural and toxicological changes and mortality for two weeks. Food and fluid consumption, body weight was monitored on daily basis. At the end (on day 15th) of the experimental period, blood was collected for haematological and biochemical analysis. Further, all the animals were euthanized, and internal organs were harvested for histopathological investigation using four different stainings; haematoxylin and eosin, Masson trichrome, Periodic Acid Schiff and Picro Sirius Red for gross pathology through microscopical observation.

Results: The study results showed no LA treatment-related mortality and morbidity at two different dosages. Daily food and water consumption, body weight, relative organ weight, haematological, and biochemical analysis were observed to be normal with no severe alterations to the internal tissues.

Conclusion: The current finding suggests that single oral administration of LA, even up to 2,000 mg/kg body weight, did not exhibit any signs of toxicity in SD rats; thus, it was safe to be used on disease models in animals.

Keywords: Acute oral toxicity; Biochemical parameters; Food and water intake; H&E staining; Haematological parameters; Histopathology; Lauric acid; Masson trichrome staining; Relative organ weight.

Grants and funding

The current study was funded by the Taylors University Flagship Research Grant (TUFR/2017/002/01) under the umbrella of Ageing and Quality of Life. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.