Abstract: Objective To assess the acute toxicity and developmental toxicity of target organs of four poisonous insect traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs), namely EUPOLYPHAGA SEU POLYPHAGA, SCORPIO, HIRUDO and SCOLOPENDRA, in order to provide data for studies on their safety. Methods The safety was assessed by determining the median lethal concentration (LC₅₀) of aqueous decoctions of poisonous insects at five concentrations (5.0, 3.75, 2.5, 1.0, and 0.5 mg·mL⁻¹) in zebrafish embryos. The toxic effects on such targeted system and organs as the heart, liver, digestive system, and nervous system were investigated. Results The four poisonous insect-derived medicinal materials all exhibited strong embryotoxicity, especially SCOLOPENDRA (LC₅₀: 0.60-1.33 mg·mL^-1) and HIRUDO (LC₅₀: 0.86-1.35 mg·mL^-1). Analysis of developmental toxicity in target organs found that EUPOLYPHAGA SEU POLYPHAGA primarily affected cardiac development (at an induction rate of 41.56%) while SCOLOPENDRA impacted intestinal development (at an induction rate of 40.52%). Conclusion This study suggests that HIRUDO is more toxic than SCORPIO. The results from the evaluation model for zebrafish toxicity are expected to provide data for optimizing the toxicity classification of traditional Chinese medicines and setting safety dose limits.

Key words: Insect-Derived Medicinal Materials, EUPOLY-PHAGA SEU POLYPHAGA, SCORPIO, HIRUDO, SCOLO-PENDRA, Toxicity, Median Lethal Concentration, Zebrafish, Target Organ, Safety