Intracellular calcium release during in vitro mammalian embryonic development in the presence of Kalanchoe pinnata extract

The study was conducted to investigate the potential of using herbal extract which was Kalanchoe pinnata (Setawar) as supplement into the culture medium for in vitro embryonic development specifically during early cleavage stages of rabbit and mouse embryonic developments. In addition, calcium releases during each of the stages were detected and compared with those cultured in Whitten Medium (WM) which were the control medium. Two concentrations of the extract designated as T1 (1 mg/ml) and T2 (2.5 mg/ml) were used. The 8-cell stage was recorded among rabbit embryos cultured in K. pinnata supplemented medium with the percentage of 15.15% of development found in 1 mg/ml of the extract. Developmental stages of the 1-cell mouse embryos halted at 4-cell stage, in both 1 mg/ml and 2.5 mg/ml extract. Meanwhile, by using 2-cell embryos, the developmental stage had reached to morula in WM medium supplemented with 2.5 mg/ml of the extract. The later also showed the highest luminescence signals for calcium release during cleavage development.