EMBRYOTOXICITY IN DANIO RERIO USING FOENICULUM VULGARE AND ITS ABORTIFACIENT ACTIVITY

Danio rerio is one of the best model organisms to study various kinds of disorders. Their genome is fully sequenced and they possess easily detectable developmental properties. The development of their embryo is quite rapid. This is important as the embryos are formed by external fertilization, are large and transparent. Abortifacient is a substance that induces abortion. It can be used in the form of a herbal extract or a synthetic drug. This study was conducted by treating Danio rerio embryos with a well-known plant having abortifacient activity like Foeniculum vulgare (fennel) seeds. A methanolic seed extract of Foaeniculum vulgare was prepared and subjected to the embryos at different post fertilization periods and at different concentrations. The compounds in the extract were characterized by GC-MS and docking studies were done to identify the compound showing maximum activity. The fertilized embryos were observed at regular intervals. The fertilized embryos are surrounded by an acellular envelope called chorion. Hence, the embryos that were treated with different concentrations of the plant extract underwent shrinkage of the chorion, which affected the normal embryonic development.