The toxicity of the plants may originate from different
contaminants or from plant chemical compounds that are
part of the plant. Various assays are used for the research
of potential toxicity of herbal extracts based on different
biological models, such as in vivo assays on laboratory animals.
However, recent studies employed efforts for alternative
biological assays that include species of Artemia salina,
Artemia franciscana, Artemia urmiana and Thamnocephalus
platyurus. These toxicity tests are considered a
useful tool for preliminary assessment of toxicity (Carballo
et al., 2002; Veni and Pushpanathan, 2014; Mayorga et
al., 2010).