Abstract
A ninety-day oral toxicity study of saponified Capsicum annum fruit extract with 50% (w/w) capsanthin (SCFE-50 C) was performed by oral gavage administration to male and female Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats at doses of 0, 500, 1000 and 2000 mg/kg BW/day for a period of ninety consecutive days. To assess the reversal of toxicity, the treatment phase was followed with a twenty-eight-day recovery period. The treatment with SCFE-50 C in both male and female SD rats showed no mortality, and no treatment-related toxicologically significant changes were observed in any groups. No significant differences between treated and control groups were found in feed consumption, body weight gain, individual organ weights, ocular examination, clinical chemistry or blood biochemistry. The necroscopy and histopathology examination did not reveal any clinically significant changes in male and female rats from the 2000 mg/kg BW/day group. According to this study, the no observable adverse effect level (NOAEL) for saponified Capsicum annum fruit extract with 50% (w/w) capsanthin (SCFE-50 C) administered by oral gavage for 90-days is > 2000 mg/kg BW/day in SD rats.