Teucrium Polium Plant Extract Provokes Substantial Cytotoxicity at the Early Stage of Embryonic Development

Abstract

The aim of this study is to explore the outcome of Teucrium polium (TP) medicinal plant consumption on the early stage of fetal development. We used the chicken embryo at 3 days of incubation as a model to evaluate the effect of TP plant extract during embryogenesis. In addition, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was applied to explore the expression of six genes related to cell proliferation, apoptosis, survival, angiogenesis, and migration. Our data revealed that TP exposure inhibits angiogenesis of the chicken embryo and its chorioallantoic membrane. In addition, we found that TP extract significantly harms the normal development of the embryos since around 95% of TP-exposed embryos died after 1-3 days of treatment. Macroscopic examination did not show any anomalies in these embryos. However, qPCR analysis of activation transcription factor-3, B-cell lymphoma-2, caspase-8, inhibin subunit beta A, vascular endothelial growth factor-C, and Cadherin-6 type-2 genes revealed that these genes are considerably deregulated in heart and brain tissues from TP-exposed embryos in comparison with their matched tissues from unexposed ones. Our study implies that TP plant can have very toxic effects on the early stage of the embryo. Therefore, it is important to alert expectant women to avoid the use of this medicinal plant during pregnancy.

The Effect of In Ovo Administration of Rosemary Essential Oil on Hatchability, Relative Hatching Weight, and Embryo Mortality Rate in Japanese Quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica)

“…Furthermore, the administration of aqueous rosemary extract without EO proved to be toxic through the inhibition of embryonic implantation [ 43 ]. Indeed, in ovo administration of plant extract has also been reported to have dramatic effects on embryonic development [ 44 ]. In addition, Bakkali et al [ 40 ] reported that essential oils have been shown to damage the cellular membrane structure as well as the cytoplasm and cell organelle membranes because of the great number of constituents.…”

Alcoholic extracts of Teucrium polium exhibit remarkable anti-inflammatory activity: In vivo study

“…It has been reported that TP extracts have antioxidant, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory activities that can be explored for potential therapeutic uses. Recently, it has been reported that pregnant women could be very sensitive to these kinds of medical plants, especially in the early stage of pregnancy [ 18 ]. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to investigate the anti-inflammatory activity of TP extract to confirm its effectiveness in animal models.…”