TOXICITY STUDY IN MICE OF RESINS OF THREE COMMIPHORA SPECIES

Abstract

Acute toxicity studies of crude extracts of resins of Commiphora myrrha, C. guidottii and C. erlangeriana, and pure compounds isolated from C. erlangeriana were conducted on Swiss albino mice. The extract from C. erlangeriana had a mean LD50 of 410 mg/kg body weight. However the extracts from C. myrrha and C. guidotti were not toxic at the doses tested. The pure compound isolated from C. erlangeriana, erlangerin D (1) demonstrated a mean LD50 of 140 mg/kg body weight. On the other hand erlangerin A (2) was not toxic to the mice at even four times the LD50 value of erlangerin D (1).