Xanthohumol, the major prenylated chalcone found in hops, is known to exert several beneficial effects but only few studies evaluated the safety profile of this natural compd. with in part discrepant results. Here, the authors fed female BALB/c mice with a std. diet supplemented with xanthohumol for 3 wk, and thus, achieved a daily dose of .apprx.1000 mg xanthohumol/kg body wt. There were no significant differences in body wt. or food intake between mice on std. diet and animals receiving the same diet supplemented with xanthohumol. Histopathol. examn. of the liver, kidney, colon, lung, heart, spleen, and thymus revealed no signs of xanthohumol toxicity, and biochem. serum anal. confirmed normal organ function. Further, xanthohumol treatment did not affect hepatic glycogen content, CYP2E1 and CYP1A2 expression levels, but CYP3A11 mRNA was .apprx.30% reduced. Expression of several genes indicative of early hepatic inflammation and fibrosis, a hallmark of chronic liver injury, did not differ between xanthohumol treated and control mice. Thus, oral administration of xanthohumol exhibited no adverse effects on major organ function and homeostasis in mice. Particularly, hepatotoxic effects could be ruled out confirming a good safety profile of xanthohumol as a prerequisite for further studies in humans
