Angiosuppressive and Teratogenic Influence of an Edible Medicinal herb , Insulin plant ( Costus igneus ) in Mallard Duck ( Anas platyrhynchos ) Embryos

Abstract— It has been found out that medicinal plants are potential sources of anticancer compounds. Thus, this study was conducted to evaluate the anti-angiogenic potential of the crude ethanolic extract from Insulin plant (Costus igneus) through chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) vascularity and teratogenicity assays in mallard duck (Anas platyrhynchos) embryos. Each of the seven treatments 5.0%, 1.0%, 0.1%, 0.06% and 0.01% extracts, alpha-tocopherol (positive control) and pure olive oil (negative control) was randomly administered by injection into the air cell of twenty 8-day old embryos that were incubated at 37.5o C. On the 12th day of incubation, five living embryos in each treatment were sacrificed. Using Image J software developed by Wayne Rasband (2010), primary, secondary and tertiary blood vessels were counted, and the diameters (in cm) of primary and secondary blood vessels were measured in a representative 4 by 4 cm fractal segment of the CAM of five alive embryos in each treatment group. On the 18th day of incubation, the remaining ten embryos in each group were examined for gross external morphological abnormalities. Results showed that the 5.0% extract was fatal. The results revealed that there is an insignificant difference among the values of the secondary blood vessels, tertiary blood vessels, and total number of blood vessels, diameter of primary blood vessels and diameter of secondary blood vessels with respect to the positive and negative control. The teratogenicity assay revealed that the results are statistically insignificant for gross morphological abnormalities. Therefore, the results revealed that the extracted crude ethanolic substance of C. igneus did not contain components that can significantly inhibit angiogenesis. Furthermore, these results revealed that Insulin plant (C. igneus) has no teratogenic effect.