Developmental neurotoxicity evaluation of three Chinese herbal medicines in zebrafish larvae by means of two behavioral assays: Touch-evoked response and light/dark transition  

Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) is used among pregnant women. However, the question of its safety during pregnancy remains unclear. The use of these products relies on history of use data but there are specific toxicities like developmental neurotoxicity that are clearly understudied. Here we use the...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Romero, Noelia Giselle, Gutierrez, Gerardo, Teixidó Condomines, Elisabet, Li, Lu, Klose, Jördis, Ping Chung, Leung, Cañigueral i Folcarà, Salvador, Fritsche, Ellen, Barenys Espadaler, Marta
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de la UB
OAI Identifier:oai:diposit.ub.edu:2445/219030
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2445/219030
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Peix zebra
Embaràs
Toxicologia
Zebra danio
Pregnancy
Toxicology
Descripción
Sumario:Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) is used among pregnant women. However, the question of its safety during pregnancy remains unclear. The use of these products relies on history of use data but there are specific toxicities like developmental neurotoxicity that are clearly understudied. Here we use the zebfrafish embryo developmental toxicity assay (ZEDTA) in combination with two behavioral assays: touch-evoked response and Light/Dark (L/D) transition assay to evaluate the neuro/developmental toxicity of three herbal products commonly used in CHM [Chinese name (abbreviation; part of the plant and Scientific name]: tian ma (TM; tuber form Gastrodia elata Blume), lei gong teng (LGT; root and rhizome of Tripterygium wilfordii Hook.f) and cha ye (green tea, leaves from Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze). In case significant alterations were detected, single components with potential exposure during pregnancy were identified in the literature and further tested. TM had no neurodevelopmental toxic potential in zebrafish embryos, while LGT and its main compounds triptolide and celastrol induced significant alterations in behavior. Developmental exposure to EGCG, the main catechin of green tea, also produced significant alterations in zebrafish embryos behavior after developmental exposure. A combination of ZEDTA with L/D Transition assay is proposed as a useful combination of alternative methods for DNT assessment of CHM products together with other New Approach Methodologies (NAMs). Keywords: Alternative methods; Herbal products; NAMs (New Approach Methodologies); Pregnancy; Prenatal development; Traditional use.