Preliminary toxicity studies on the bioconversion product of Tripterygium wilfordii.

Objective:To study the toxicity of the fermentated products from the well known medicinal plant Tripterygium wilfordii(TW).Methods:The organs weights,changes of blood samples as well as blood biochemistry standards of the mice were measured.Results:The toxicity was different according to the species of fungi used in fermentation.Compared with the original materials,the sample TW-3(using Aspergillus spp.in fermentation) showed the lowest toxcity,the sample TW-1(using Rhizopus spp.in fermentation) showed the lower toxcity than the original materials and the sample TW-2(combined fungi species) showed the similar toxcity as the original materials.Conclusion:The toxicity of the bioconversion product decreased and its chemical constituents may change.