A Short Preliminary Experimental Study on Teratogenic Effect of Methenamine in Embryonic Model

Methenamine salts have been traditionally used in the veterinary and human medicine, but its use is sometimes associated with some side effects.Toxicopathological effects of methenamine salt have always been a major concern. There is scantly information available about the lesions of methenamine compound in embryo. The objective of this study was to determine the teratogenic effects of methenamine in the chicken embryo. Fertile chicken eggs were divided into four equal treatment groups, 10 eggs per each, as fallow: group 1: no injected group. Group 2: needle-injected group; the needle was insert into yolk sac without any injection. Group 3: phosphate buffered saline-injected group; whose individuals were injected with phosphate buffered saline solution. Group 4, whose individuals were likewise injected with methenamine at dosage of 30 mg/egg at day 4 of incubation. The teratogenic effect of methenamine was revealed as cyst formation instead of abdominal and thoracic body structures. Not recognizable organ was existed in abdominal/thoracic cyst. The normal brain tissue was replaced by large cavity with rim of nervous tissue. The feather formation was also defected. Based on these findings, it is concluded that methenamine at above-mentioned concentration are teratogenic for the chicken embryo. Current study also advises caution in the extended use of methenamine compounds. Further studies are needed to clarify the teratogenic effects of this drug on the development of human fetus