Effects of Tartrazine on Neural Tube Development in the Early Stage of Chicken Embryos

Özet

AIM: To investigate the effects of tartrazine exposure on neural tube development, in early stage chicken embryos.MATERIAL and METHODS: A total of 120 fertilized specific pathogen-free chicken eggs were divided into 4 equal groups (groups1–4). After 30 hours of incubation, the eggs, except for the Group 1 (control group), were opened under 4X optical magnification.Group 2 was administered physiological saline. Group 3 was administered a middle dose of tartrazin (4.5 mg/kg) at a volume of 20µL by the in ovo method, and group 4 was administered a high dose of tartrazine (7.5 mg/kg) using the same process. Incubationwas continued until the end of the 72nd hour; all embryos were then removed from the eggs and histopathologically examined.RESULTS: Of the 120 embryos incubated, normal development and the closed neural tubes were shown in all embryos in group 1;23 in group 2; 19 in group 3 and; only 9 in group 4. Open neural tubes were found in; 4 embryos in group 2; 5 embryos in group 3and; 13 embryos in group 4. The neural tube closure defect was found to be significantly higher in group 4 compared to the othergroups (p<0.01).CONCLUSION: Based on our data, tartrazine, as one of the widely used food coloring agent, was seen to cause a neural tubedefect in the chicken embryo model.