COMPARATIVE TOXICOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF VERONICA AND SALIX EXTRACTS USING DAPHNIA PULEX AND HETEROCYPRIS INCONGRUENS
ALEXANDRA MIHAELA PAȘITONIU 1,2, CORINA CORNET 1*, CERASELA ELENA GÎRD 1, GEORGIANA NIȚULESCU 1, COSMINA-GABRIELA DUȚĂ-BRATU 1, DUMITRU LUPULIASA 1, GEORGE MIHAI NIȚULESCU 1, OCTAVIAN TUDOREL OLARU ¹
¹ ”Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania
2 Sereskin Concept SRL, Ilfov, Romania
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Botanical extracts are increasingly investigated as sources of bioactive compounds for pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and cosmetic applications; however, their biological activity should be accompanied by an adequate safety profile. This study compared the acute toxicity of aqueous, hydroethanolic, and ethanolic extracts from three Veronica species (V. prostrata, V. officinalis, and V. hederifolia) and Salix × fragilis using two complementary freshwater invertebrate models, Daphnia pulex and Heterocypris incongruens. Acute toxicity was assessed after 24 and 48 h of exposure by determining median lethal concentration (LC50) values. Aqueous extracts exhibited negligible toxicity in both models, whereas hydroethanolic and ethanolic extracts induced higher mortality. In D. pulex, the 96% ethanolic extract of V. officinalis showed the highest toxicity, whereas the hydroethanolic extract of S. × fragilis produced the most pronounced response in H. incongruens. D. pulex generally appeared to be more sensitive than H. incongruens, allowing clearer discrimination between extracts with different toxicological profiles. These findings show that extraction solvent influences the acute toxicity of botanical extracts and support using freshwater invertebrate models for preliminary toxicological evaluation of plant-derived preparations.
