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.