The spleen/body weight ratio increased in females in the A600
group compared to females in the Ctrl, CNO and A1000 groups.
Among males, results were not as clear-cut because spleen weights
increased in males in the A600 group compared with Ctrl and CNO
groups, but it decreased in males in the A1000 group compared
with males in the A300 and A600 groups. These alterations are
difficult to interpret and could reflect different stimuli induced by
each particular AAs doses in the hematological system. However,
no leukocyte changes were observed in the peripheral blood, and
there were no striking histopathological changes in the spleen tissue
in any groups. Further, we cannot exclude the possibility that
terminal blood congestion within the spleen influenced the organ
weight in an erratic manner.
Finally, we performed a mutagenicity analysis to evaluate
whether a dose below 300 mg/kg damages chromosomes. Our
results show that treatment with 250 mg/kg AAs and CNO did not
increase the frequency of micronucleus when compared to a positive
control. Similarly, Acevedo et al. (2006) have described this
micronucleus assay at 24, 48 and 72 h after oral administration
of 0.75, 2.5, 5.0 and 10.0 mg/kg of AAs isolated from the bark of
Amphipterygium adstringens and found no evidence of cytotoxic
activity in CD1 mice.