COMPARATIVE TERATOLOGICAL OUTCOMES OF FLUORIDE IONS AND A FLUORIDATED INSECTICIDE (BIFENTHRIN) IN CHICK EMBRYOS

Teratological capacities of fluoride ions (F), from NaF, and bifenthrin (BN) in ovo exposure were compared in the golden black variety of domestic chicken. Three groups (n=55) were studied: (i) vehicle control group (VC) with 0.1 mL 5% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) in demineralized water; (ii) F group with 0.01 µg F/g egg weight (EW) and (iii) BN group with 0.01µg BN/g EW. The relevant doses were injected in freshly laid fertilized eggs. The embryos were removed from the egg shells after 14 days of incubation. The embryos were weighed and fixed in Bouin's solution for further studies. Morphological studies indicated general growth retardation in the embryos in the F and BN groups compared to the VC group. Reduced beak length, microphthalmia, exocardia, and meromelia were observed in the F group embryos whereas, different appendicular deformities such as fore-limb meromelia, contorted and polydactyl hindlimbs, un-clawed digits, and elongated digits corresponding to the index fingers were seen in the BN group embryos. Statistical analysis revealed a significant increase in dead and growth-retarded embryos in both the F and BN groups compared to the VC group. The morphometric data also showed a significant (p