The effect of Ipomoea carnea on maternal reproductive outcomes and fetal and postnatal development in rats

Author(s)

Gotardo, Andre Tadeu ^[1] ; Lippi, Luciana Lucinio ^[1] ; Violin, Kalan Bastos ^[2] ; Andrade Forell Bevilacqua, Estela Maris ^[3] ; Gorniak, Silvana Lima ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Res Ctr Vet Toxicol CEPTOX, Sch Vet Med & Anim Sci, Dept Pathol, BR-05508270 Pirassununga, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Sao Paulo, Mat Sci & Technol Ctr, Energy & Nucl Res Inst, BR-05508000 Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[3] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Biomed Sci, Dept Cell & Dev Biol, Sao Paulo - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Toxicon; v. 190, p. 3-10, JAN 30 2021.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

Ipomoea carnea is a toxic plant found in Brazil and other tropical countries. The plant contains the alkaloids calystegines and swainsonine, which inhibit key cellular enzymes and cause systematic cell death. It is known that swainsonine is excreted in the amniotic fluid of dams exposed to the plant. Thus, the aim of this study was to verify whether the toxic effect of I. carnea on fetuses is due to exclusively the passage of the active principle of the plant through the placenta, or if the placentotoxic effect of swainsonine could collaborate in the adverse effects observed in the fetus. The teratogenic effects of exposure to the toxic principles of I. carnea were evaluated not only using the conventional protocol but also at later stages in the postnatal developmental period. Females were treated, from gestation day (GD) 6 until GD19, with 0.0, 1.0, 3.0 or 7.0 g/kg body weight of I. carnea dry leaves. The plant did not induce changes in reproductive performance or biochemical profile of the dams. Dams that received the highest dose of I. carnea showed cytoplasmic vacuolization in the liver, kidney and placental tissue. I. carnea promoted different lectin binding patterns in different areas of placental tissue. No fetal skeletal or visceral malformations was observed. The postnatal evaluation revealed a lower litter weight and a lower pup body weight one day after birth in the group that received the highest dose of I. carnea. Physical milestones were unaffected by the treatments. Female pups from all experimental groups exhibited a delay in achieving a negative geotaxis response. The results show that the toxic principle of I. carnea produces injury in utero in mothers and fetuses, but these deleterious effects were better demonstrated using postnatal evaluation. (AU)