Subchronic toxicity of piperine in piper nigrum on the histology of the kidney, liver, and lungs of mice (Mus musculus L.)

Abstract

Introduction: Piperine is a compound that has many health benefits, but piperin has toxic effects that endanger the human body. The purpose of this study was to determine the toxic dose of subchronic piperine administration using histology of the liver, kidneys, and lungs of mice (Mus musculus L).Method: This is a quasi-experimental research with posttest only control group design.  Thirty male BALB/c mice were divided into five groups. Piperine was administered orally to the mice. The normal control group and four treatment groups at dosage of 17.5, 35, 70, and 140 mg/kg body weight for 21 days. At the day-22, the liver, kidneys, and lungs were removed and prepared using the HE staining technique. Scores of liver, kidney, and lung damage are recorded. The data was analyzed using one-way ANOVA with the post hoc Tukey test.Result: The liver histological damage score after administration of piperine doses of 35, 70, and 140 mg/kg significantly different from the control group. The kidney and lung damage scores after 140 mg/kg administration showed significant differences from the control group. The conclusion is piperine at dosage of 35, 70, and 140 mg/kg was toxic to the liver, and piperine at doses of 140 mg/kg was toxic to the kidney and lung histology of BALB/c mice.Conclusion: Piperine should not be used at doses of 35 mg/kg body weight or larger.