A proposed screening strategy for evaluating the genotoxicity potential of botanicals and botanical extracts

The HESI Botanical Safety Consortium’s Genotoxicity Working Group has developed a proposed screening strategy to identify the genotoxic potential of botanicals. Botanical products are complex mixtures that are difficult to test in traditional toxicology mammalian models due to their inherent variability. Genotoxicity is important to measure carcinogenesis, and for other types of damage, like to germ-line cells.

Key takeaways from this publication include:

1. New Approach Methodologies (NAMs): Exploration of NAMs that are being proposed (in vitro and in silico models) to screen for genotoxicity effectively.
2. Broad Botanical Testing: Testing a variety of botanicals through case studies, with established assays for evaluating genotoxicity.
3. Development of a Safety Toolkit: Creation of a toolkit to assist researchers in screening botanicals, informing further studies, and potentially reducing animal testing.

This publication is valuable for toxicologists, regulatory bodies, and botanical product researchers interested in advancing safety assessment frameworks for botanical supplements.

Read the full article at link below:
A proposed screening strategy for evaluating the genotoxicity potential of botanicals and botanical extracts. Witt et al., 2025. Food and Chemical Toxicology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2025.115277