naphthoquinones and Abnormalities--Drug-Induced

Lapachol is a naphthoquinone well known for its therapeutic potential. Previous studies have shown that lapachol does not interfere with embryonic development during the pre-implantation period. However, when administered during the organogenic period at the same dose level, it induces a high fetal death incidence. To evaluate the effect of lapachol during fetogenesis, 20 pregnant Wistar rats were randomly divided into two groups: vehicle (10 mL of a 50% aqueous ethanol solution/kg body weight) and treated (100 mg of lapachol/kg body weight). Lapachol was administered from the 17th to 20th day of pregnancy. The following variables were analyzed: maternal body weight from 16th to 21st day of pregnancy, food intake from 17th to 21st day of pregnancy, clinical signs of physical discomfort, ovarian weights, implantations, resorptions and mortality indices, fetal and placenta weights, external malformations, and fetal organ weights. Results indicated that lapachol was not toxic to mothers, although it was fetotoxic leading to fetal growth retardation.

Topics: Abnormalities, Drug-Induced; Animals; Body Weight; Eating; Embryonic and Fetal Development; Female; Fetal Growth Retardation; Fetal Weight; Gestational Age; Naphthoquinones; Organ Size; Ovary; Placenta; Pregnancy; Rats; Rats, Wistar

Material milled and sampled in 1986 in one Prague flour mill included two flour batches contaminated with a toxicogenic strain of Penicillium islandicum Sopp. P. islandicum, cultivated under experimental conditions, yielded the total of eight grams of chloroform extract containing three grams of luteoskyrin from a kilogram of wheat. The effective dose of chloroform extract was 0.8 microgram (0.5-1.8) for a two-day old chicken embryo, 2.0 microgram (1.7-2.6) for a three-day old embryo and 2.8 micrograms (1.7-4.7) for a four-day old embryo. On all days of administration the chloroform extract had a strong teratogenous action. The most frequent malformations included microophthalmia and anophthalmia, cerebral hernia, bilaterally cleft beak, and reduction deformities of the extremities.

Topics: Abnormalities, Drug-Induced; Animals; Chick Embryo; Flour; Food Contamination; Naphthoquinones; Penicillium; Teratogens

Topics: Abnormalities, Drug-Induced; Aminosalicylic Acids; Animals; Aspirin; Benzoates; Chick Embryo; Chloramphenicol; Female; Morphogenesis; Naphthoquinones; Vitamin E