Acmella oleracea (L) R. K. Jansen Reproductive Toxicity in Zebrafish: An In Vivo and In Silico Assessment.

Acmella oleracea (L) R. K. Jansen Reproductive Toxicity in Zebrafish: An In Vivo and In Silico Assessment. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2019;2019:1237301 Authors: de Souza GC, Matias Pereira AC, Viana MD, Ferreira AM, da Silva IDR, de Oliveira MMR, Barbosa WLR, Silva LB, Ferreira IM, Dos Santos CBR, Carvalho JCT Abstract The plant species Acmella oleracea L. is used in the north of Brazil for the treatment of a range of illnesses, such as tuberculosis, flu, cough, and rheumatism and as an anti-inflammatory agent; besides, hydroethanolic formulations with this species are popularly used as a female aphrodisiac agent. However, currently, there are no studies performed evaluating its effect on embryonic development. Hence, this research aimed to evaluate the effects of the hydroethanolic extract of A. oleracea (EHFAo) on the reproductive performance (parental) and embryonic development (F1 generation) of zebrafish, at concentrations of 50, 100, and 200 μg/L. Histopathology of parental gonads after 21 days of exposure to EHFAo reveals few alterations in the ovaries and testes, not impairing the reproduction; an increase of eggs deposition was observed in animals treated with EHFAo at the highest concentrations. Nevertheless, concerning the embryonic development of F1, teratogenic effects were observed including tail deformation, cardiac and yolk edema, scoliosis, and growth retardation; these alterations were more prominent in th...
Source: Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine - Category: Complementary Medicine Tags: Evid Based Complement Alternat Med Source Type: research