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Acute toxicity studies of crude extracts of resins of Commiphora myrrha, C. guidottii and C. erlangeriana, and pure compounds isolated from C. erlangeriana were conducted on Swiss albino mice. The extract from C. erlangeriana had a mean LD₅₀ of 410 mg/kg body weight. However the extracts from C. myrrha and C. guidotti were not toxic at the doses tested. The pure compound isolated from C. erlangeriana, erlangerin D (1) demonstrated a mean LD50 of 140 mg/kg body weight. On the other hand erlangerin A (2) was not toxic to the mice at even four times the LD₅₀ value of erlangerin D (1).

Key words/phrases: Commiphora erlangeriana, C. guidotti, C. myrrha, myrrh, opopanax

SINET: Ethiopian Journal of Science Vol.26(2) 2003: 151-153