Jordan Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Volume 4, No. 1, 2011 - 29 - © 2011 DAR Publishers/University of Jordan. All Rights Reserved. Acute Oral Toxicity Study of Ivy-Thyme Syrup in Albino Rats Ruba Tarawneh 1 , Rana AbuFarha 1 , Mohammad Hudaib 1 , Khaled Tawaha 1 , Khaled Aieda 1 , Yasser Bustanji 1 , Mohammad Mohammad 1 1 Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan ABSTRACT This study was designed to assess the acute oral toxicity of Ivy-Thyme syrup in rats. The tested product was administered at a dose level of 3, 6 and 12 mL/kg. All animals were examined for clinical signs of ill-health or mortality at 1, 2, 4 and 8 hours after oral administration, and twice daily thereafter for 14 days. At the end of the study, all rats were alive with normal appearance and showed body weight gain during the study. The kidneys and livers of the sacrificed animals appeared normal. Ivy-Thyme syrup having 0.75% Ivy leaf dry extract and 5% thyme fluid extract was found to be non-toxic by the oral route at a dose level of 3, 6 and 12 ml/kg in female rats under the conditions of this study. Keywords: Acute oral toxicity, Ivy, Hedera, Thyme, Albino rats, Herbal medicine, Antitussive. INTRODUCTION Plants have been utilized as medicines for thousands of years. These medicines were initially taken in the form of crude drugs such as tinctures, elixirs, poultices, powders, and other herbal formulations. These natural products have played an important role in treating and preventing human diseases 1 . An analysis of the origin of the drugs that were launched in the last twenty-five years showed that both natural products and semi-synthetic compounds, derived from natural origin, comprised 34% of all new chemical entities, while 18% of them were synthetic mimics of natural compounds 2 . Furthermore, according to the WHO, 80% of the world's population, primarily those of developing countries, rely on plant- derived medicines for their healthcare 3 . However, many of these herbs and natural supplements not have been thoroughly evaluated and their safety and effectiveness may have not been proven. The clinical and pharmacological interest of the efficacy and safety of herbal remedies has grown during the past ten years because of the realization that many people are self-medicated using these agents 4,5 . However, the use of herbal products should be based on scientific origin; otherwise they would be useless and unsafe. Furthermore, the irrational use of these herbal products may cause serious toxicity for humans. Unfortunately, many people underestimate the toxicity of natural products and do not realize that these agents could be as toxic or more than synthetic drugs. A typical example for a toxic herbal product are the leaves of Atropa Belladonna 6 and Digitalis purpurea 7 , which show severe systemic toxicity if taken orally. One method for the evaluation of herbal toxicity is the acute oral toxicity test 8 in which the herbal preparation is given orally as a single and very high dose to laboratory animals like rats. The tested animals are then observed for 14 days for activity, behavior and indications of toxicity or illness. At the end of the experiment, all animals are sacrificed and their major organs (liver, spleen, kidney and lungs) are examined for any abnormal changes compared to the control groups. Received on 16/2/2010 and Accepted for Publication on 16/5/2010. E-mail: mkmohammad@ju.edu.jo