Impact of Extraction Solvent on the Yield and Toxicity of Selected Spices using Brine Shrimp and Zebrafish

Spices are aromatic and pungent food ingredients, have significant antioxidative effects and are commonly used natural antimicrobial agents in foods, imparting flavor and pungent stimuli. In aquaculture they serve as immunostimulant and natural remedies, promoting fish health and disease resistance. However, some spices can exhibit toxicity and can cause health risk as pharmaceutical agents in aquaculture industry. The purpose of this study was to assess the extraction yield of some selected spices including Mace (Myristica fragnans), Cloves (Syzygium aromaticum), Turmeric (Curcuma longa), Almond (Prunus dulcis), Coriander (Coriandrum sativum), Cinnamon (Cinamomum verum), Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum), Ajwan (Trachyspermum ammi) as well as their toxicity using the brine shrimp lethality test (BSLA, LC₅₀) and Zebra fish assay in relation to four different solvents Hexane (H), Ethyl acetae (EA), Ethanol (E) and Methanol (M). The maximum extraction yield (38.2%) was obtained from Ethyl acetate extract of P. dulcis and lowest extraction yield (2.8%) was obtained from C. verum. This experiment assessed the acute toxicity of spice extracts at concentrations up to 1000 µg/ml using two-fold serial dilution. According to Probit Regression Analysis (p <0.05), BSLA result revealed that T. ammi was non-toxic in Hexane with LC₅₀ >1000 µg/ml and highly toxic for rest of three solvents (EA, E, M); P. dulcis showed low toxicity with LC₅₀ 1000 µg/ml. S. aromaticum and C. longa was highly toxic in all solvents and three different solvent, respectively. Zebra fish assay revealed that P. dulcis was non-toxic in ethyl acetate with LC₅₀ >1000 and low toxic in methanol with LC₅₀ 1000 µg/ml and rest of the seven spices showed high and moderate toxicity. The study suggest that certain spices may be toxic when apply at high concentration, requiring further research using different animal model.

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