Evaluation of the toxicopathological lesions of Calotropis procera using a chick embryonic model

Toxicopathological effects of herbs have always been a major concern. There is scant information available about the toxicopathological effects of Calotropis procera ( C. procera ) in the fetus. Since the chick embryo is a suitable preclinical model to evaluate the toxicopathological effects of chemicals, the objective of this study is to evaluate the lesions of various dosages of C. procera using a chick embryonic model. Fertile chicken eggs were divided into three equal treatment groups; phosphate buffered saline-injected group and C. procera -injected groups whose individuals were treated with C. procera extract at dosages of 50 or 100 mg/kg egg-weight. Embryos were re-incubated post-treatment and allowed to develop until day 18, after which they were examined for macroscopic and microscopic lesions. Although the embryos which were treated with 50 mg/kg egg-weight of C. procera extract macroscopically were normal as well as the controls, those treated with 100 mg/kg egg-weight were stunted and under developed. Microscopic evaluations showed that in embryos treated with 100 mg/kg egg-weight of C. procera , the brain was congested, and severe dilation of central veins and sinusoids as well as hepatocellular degeneration was occurred in liver. Moreover, the kidney and lung were under-developed, but the structure of the heart was normal. Based on our findings, C. procera at dosage of 100 mg/kg is toxic to the chick embryo or/maybe to human fetus during growing period. Further studies are needed to clarify the toxic effects of this plant on the development of fetus.