Abstract: Objective: To evaluate the toxicological safety of glycosaminoglycan from Pinctada martensii (CPG) as a health food. Methods: Rat acute toxicity test, mouse bone marrow cell micronucleus test, mouse sperm aberration test, Ames test and 30-day rat feeding test were used. Results: Acute toxicity test showed that the acute oral maximum tolerated doses (MTD) of CPG to male and female rats were both more than 20.0 g/kg body weight, which were over 300 times higher than the recommended human dose, indicating that CPG was non-toxic. The results of genotoxicity tests, including mouse bone marrow cell micronucleus test, mouse sperm aberration test and Ames test, were all negative and without mutations. In addition, no obvious negative impact on body weight, the growth and development of visceral organs or blood biochemical indicators was observed during 30 days of feeding at doses of 2.50, 1.25 g/kg and 0.625 g/kg body weight. Conclusion: It is safe to eat CPG as a dietary supplement.

Key words: glycosaminoglycan from Pinctada martensii (CPG), acute toxicity, genotoxicity, subchronic oral toxicity