Abstract:
Traditionally, in Sri Lanka, treacle prepared from Caryota urens L. (Kithul) sap has been
used as a sweetener for many centuries and it has been used to prepare a variety of sweet
foods, drinks and some medicinal preparations such as Arista. In folklore it is claimed to
posses health benefits such as anti-ageing and anti-diabetic. Recent scientific studies
carried out by us showed that C. urens treacle posses different bioactive properties such as
antioxidant, antihyperglycemic and glucosidase inhibitory properties. However, so far no
scientific data is available to verify the safety of this traditional food. Therefore, in this
study, toxicological evaluation of C. urens treacle was done using the normal rat model.
