Abstract
The present study was carried out to examine the oral toxicity of large amounts of five so-called health foods on male mice aged 1, 4 and 8 months. At 24 hours after final treatment with a large amount (2.0g/kg/day) of each sample for 7 days, none was found to have any adverse effects on body weight, general behavior or blood chemical analysis (ALP, GPT, urea nitrogen, total protein, albumin and globulin). However, decreases in spleen weight of 1-month-old mice and relative liver weight in 4-month-old mice were observed in one of the sample groups. Relative liver weight of 1- and 4-month-old mice was decreased in two other sample groups. With respect to hematological examination, in one sample group the white blood cell count of 4-month-old mice was decreased, while the red blood cell count and hemoglobin contents of 8-month-old mice were increased. These findings indicate that differences in the effects of ingestion of large amounts of so-called health food on mice are expressed according to age.
