Teratogenic potential of nanoencapsulated vitamin A evaluated on an alternative model organism, the tunicate Ciona intestinalis.

This study aims to compare teratogenic effects caused by exposure to the traditional formulation of vit A versus nano-encapsulated vit A. We used ascidian embryos as an alternative model. Ascidians are marine organisms closely related to vertebrates that share with them a body plan and developmental programme, including the morphogenetic role of retinoic acid (RA). Our data showed that the adverse effects of exposure to the same concentration of the two formulations were different, suggesting that the nano-encapsulation increased the bioavailability of the molecule, which could be better absorbed and metabolised to RA, the effective teratogenic substance. PMID: 29336191 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition - Category: Nutrition Tags: Int J Food Sci Nutr Source Type: research