Abstract:

 OBJECTIVE: To explore the toxicological safety of Chia seed. METHODS：Acute toxicity tests and mutagenicity tests (Ames test，micronucleus test of bone marrow cell in mice and sperm shape abnormality test in mice) were used. The dose of 22.5 g/kg was chosen for the acute toxicity tests. The amounts of Chia seed of 22.5 g/kg were fed to mice through mouth，and the mice were observed  for 14 days. The doses of 0.008，0.04，0.20，1.0 and 5.0 mg/plate were chosen  for the Ames test. The treated plates were cultured at 37 ℃  for 48 h，the number of bacterial colony was counted. The doses of 1.875，3.750 and 7.500 g/kg were used for the micronucleus test. The number of micronucleus of bone marrow cell was counted，the types and numbers of sperm shape abnormality were assessed. RESULTS：Maximum tolerated dose was higher than 22.5 g/kg，indicating that Chia seed was non-toxic，and no significant difference was found between all test groups and the control group in mutagenicity tests. CONCLUSION： Chia seed showed no damage to the genetic material of prokaryotic and mammal cells.

Key words: Chia seed, acute toxicity tests, mutagenicity tests, mice