Effects of Erythrosine on Neural Tube Development in Early Chicken Embryos

Erythrosine (E127), a synthetic food dye containing iodine and sodium, has often been used inside packaged foods and beverages in Turkey and many other countries. We evaluated the effects of erythrosine on neural tube development in early-stage chicken embryos. The study included 4 groups, with a total of 80 embryos: a control group, a normal saline group, a half-dose group, and a high-dose group. After 30 hours of incubation, saline and erythrosine solution was injected under the embryonic discs. At the end of 72 hours, the embryos were excised and evaluated macroscopically and histopathologically. Neural tube defects were detected in the erythrosine-administered groups with statistically significant differences. In contrast, the embryos in the control and saline groups displayed normal development. Erythrosine increased the risk of neural tube defects in early-stage chicken embryos, even at half of the approved dose.