ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1646665
This article is part of the Research TopicNatural Compounds in Veterinary TherapeuticsView all 9 articles
Stevia rebaudiana extract (main components: chlorogenic acid and its analogues) as a new safe feed additive: evaluation of acute toxicity, sub chronic toxicity, genotoxicity, and teratogenicity
Provisionally accepted
- 1China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
- 2Zhucheng haotian PHARM Co.,LTD., weifang, China
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Stevia rebaudiana extract (SREC), primarily composed of chlorogenic acid and its analogues, is a promising feed additive that enhances livestock performance, gut health, and antioxidant capacity. However, its safety evaluation remains insufficiently studied. This study comprehensively assessed the toxicity of SREC through a series of tests: acute oral toxicity, subchronic toxicity, genotoxicity tests (Ames test, mouse bone marrow micronucleus test, and mouse sperm abnormality test), and teratogenicity. The results indicated that the LD50 of SREC in the acute oral toxicity test in mice and rats was greater than 5,000 mg/kg body weight. The 90-day subchronic toxicity test in rats demonstrated that the highest dose of 50,000 mg/kg SREC in feed was non-toxic. In the Ames test, SREC showed no mutagenic effects on Salmonella typhimurium strains TA97, TA98, TA100, and TA102. SREC also showed no genotoxicity in the mouse bone marrow micronucleus test and mouse sperm abnormality test. The mouse bone marrow micronucleus test revealed no significant differences in the micronucleated polychromatic erythrocyte rates between the test groups (1,250-5,000 mg/kg body weight) and the negative control group (p > 0.05). Similarly, there was no significant difference in the sperm abnormality rates between the test groups and the negative control group (p > 0.05). Furthermore, SREC exhibited no teratogenic effects on pregnant rats, with embryonic development showing no significant differences compared to the negative control group. In conclusion, SREC exhibited low toxic effects in the acute toxicity test and subchronic toxicity test, and no genotoxicity or teratogenicity was observed in this study. These findings could provide a reference for its safety evaluation.
Keywords: Stevia rebaudiana extract1, Oral acute toxicit2, Sub chronic toxicity3, Genotoxicity4, Teratogenicity5
Received: 13 Jun 2025; Accepted: 18 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Yuting, Liping, Dongsheng, Ling, Yajing and ShuSheng. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Tang ShuSheng, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
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