| Summary: | 碩士 === 大葉大學 === 生物產業科技學系 === 103 === Chenopodium formosanum Koidz, the food of aboriginal traditional crop in Taiwan, is known as red quinoa pigweed species and commonly called “Djulis”. Dlulis is rich in nutrients and functional ingredients, and research has shown that it has various biological effects including decreases of cholesterol and liver inflammation index, enhancement of immunity and emotional stability, improvement of sleep, and prevention of Parkinson's disease. Although Djulis is a traditional agricultural crop, it is not listed as a crop of food by the Taiwan agricultural authorities. Consequently, it is very difficult to promote Djulis cultivation and its product development. Therefore there is an urgent need to determine the safety and safe dose of Djulis. In this study, we used Ames test, MTT assay and 28-day feeding toxicity tests to evaluate Djulis safety and in terms of human safety dose. The results show that there was no genotoxic effect under the concentration of 250-1000 ug/plate of hot water and 50% ethanol extracts from whole Djulis (WD), hulled Djulis (HD) and Djulis husk (DH). In addition, no cytotoxic effects (cell viability＞90%) of hot water extracts of hulled Djulis (WEHD) and 50% ethanol extracts of hulled Djulis (EEHD) in macrophage (RAW264.7). However, the cell viability was significantly decreased (P<0.05) when the concentration was above 500 and 1000 ug / mL of hot water extracts of whole Djulis (WEWD) and 50% ethanol extracts of hulled Djulis (EEWD), respectively. The results display that Djulis husks may contain components (such as: saponin, alkaloid or phytic acid) that can inhibit cell proliferation. In 28-day feeding toxicity tests by administration with 12.75, 25.5 and 51% of steamed whole Djulis, the rat’s behavior, organ tissue weight, histological stain, blood routine examination, and blood and urine biochemistry were not statistically significant as compared to those of the control group (P> 0.05) or in the normal range. The blood sugar in male rats fed steamed hulled Djulis with medium and high doses was significantly decreased (P<0.05), but administration of high-dose steamed hulled Djulis significantly increased glutamic pyruvic transaminase (GPT; a liver inflammation index) as compared to that of blank and control groups (P <0.05) in female and male rats. Based on the medium dose in rats, the safe daily Djulis consumption for a 60-kg human is estimated to be about 55 ~ 66 g (dry weight). Overall, the present results suggest that Djulis should be hulled before cooking to reduce body damage in humans.
|
|---|
