Abstract: Objective To study the long-term toxicity of salt Psoralea corylifolia L. aqueous extract in male and female Wistar rats. Methods Eighty normal rats were randomly divided into the normal group, low dose (L) group (0.56 g/kg)、medium dose (M) group (1.12 g/kg)、and high dose (H) group (5.6 g/kg). The 90 days of continuous administration were followed by the recovery period of 45 days. The degree of toxic reactions, toxic target organs, action characteristics and rate of recovery were observed. Results After continuous administration of 90 days, there was no significant difference in daily food intake or water intake between each administration group and the normal group (P>0.05). The changes of blood routine indexes, blood biochemical indexes and liver related indexes in rats were more significant, and other indexes increased or decreased to varying degrees, but almost returned to normal at the end of recovery, which was of no toxicological significance. The thymus / brain ratio of female and male rats in salt Psoralea corylifolia L. H group was significantly decreased (P<0.01), so was the ovary / brain ratio of female rats in salt Psoralea corylifolia L. H group and the epididymis / brain ratio of male rats in salt Psoralea corylifolia L. H group (P<0.01), but these ratios returned to normal recovery. The liver / brain ratio of male and female rats in salt Psoralea corylifolia L.H and M group increased 45 days after drug withdrawal (P<0.05). Conclusion Ninety days of continuous administration of 5.6 g/kg (equivalent to 40 times clinical 70 kg daily dosage) of Psoralea corylifolia water extract to rats can cause liver injury.

Key words: salt Psoralea corylifolia L., aqueous extract, chronic toxicity, rats