earticle

영어

Here, we evaluated toxicity effects of Lepidii seu Descurainiae Semen and its adulterant species. Authentic Lepidii seu Descurainiae Semen and closely related inauthentic plant materials were evaluated for their cytotoxicity induction in human hepatocarcinoma (HepG2) as compared to normal human kidney epithelial (HEK293) cell lines. In this study, we compared 5 species of plant seeds, Lepidium apetalum (LA), Descurainia sophia (DS), Draba nemorosa (DN), Lepidium virginicum (LV), and Erysimum cheilanthoides (EC). Five species were tested with MTT assay for their cytotoxicity after 24 hours of exposure to the cells. Among the five species, EC possessed the most robust toxicity, with specific selectivity against HepG2 and HEK293 cells. MTT assay alone cannot establish toxicity, and further studies on toxic mechanism are needed. However, it is anticipated that it will be possible to evaluate the toxicity of Korean herbal medicine with high prediction ability, and it is expected to be utilized as toxicological data before in vivo experiment.