Recent Advancement in in-vivo and in-vitro Toxicity Studies for Ayurvedic Formulation

Aim: Ayurvedic formulation consists of natural substance. Many of Ayurvedic formulation consist of heavy metals and some species are poisonous in nature. So it is necessary to determine the toxicity of Ayurvedic formulation. Background: Toxicology is a science that involves the study of the adverse effect of the substance on living organism. The toxicity of the substance can be observed by: a) in vivo (using the whole animal), b) in vitro (Testing on isolated cell or tissue). In vivo toxicity study involves acute toxicity, sub-acute toxicity, sub-chronic toxicity and chronic toxicity studies. In vitro toxicity testing of substance involves model such as model for cytotoxicity, specific toxicity, genotoxicity and toxicokinetic. The challenges regarding in vivo and in vitro toxicity study and recent development in the toxicity studies are discussed briefly. Conclusion: This review mainly focus on the various methods and model used for in vivo and in vitro toxicity testing of substance and provides information about the toxicity study which will be useful for the researchers who are working in the field of toxicology as well encourage researchers to work on various areas of research for the development and enhancement in acceptance of Ayurveda.