Single Oral Dose Toxicity Study of an Alcohol Extract of Bombus ignitus pupae in Rats

Recently, as the male silkworm pupae, bee pupae have the potential that strengths men's vitality on vascular endothelial nitric oxide in endothelial cells. Especially we prepared alcohol extract of pupae of bumblebee, native bee named Hobakbul, Bombus ignitus. The alcohol extract of pupae of B. ignitus was administered to rats at doses of 0, 0.04, 0.2, 1 or 2 g/kg as a single oral dose. There were no observed clinical signs or deaths related to treatment in all the groups tested. Therefore, the approximate lethal dose of the alcohol extract B. ignitus pupae was considered to be higher than 2 g/kg in rats. Mild decreases in body weight gain in male were observed dose-dependently within B. ignitus pupae alcohol extract treated groups in dose response manner over 2 weeks. Throughout the administration periods, no significant changes in diet consumption, ophthalmologic findings, clinical pathology (hematology, clinical chemistry and coagulation) or gross pathology were detected. Minor changes in male and female rats were found in hematological parameters for all or partial of B. ignitus pupae extract treated groups but all the changes observed were within the physiological range. From these results, it was concluded that there was no-evidence of specific toxicity related to the ingestion of alcohol extract of B. ignitus pupae.