Considerable livestock losses occur annually as the result of toxic plants that cause embryonic death, abortion, and fetal abnormalities [1-3]. Plant toxins also interfere with reproduction through their effects on male fertility, especially by affecting spermatogenesis. The plant species that have been historically associated with abortion and infertility in livestock are listed in Table 8-1. ...

among the female sexual hormones, the estrogen and progesterone are of significant importance. these hormones are prescribed for the treatment of certain female genital system disorders as well as used in the synthesis of contraceptive drugs. it has been shown that administration of the above hor mones during early pregnancy may produce abortion in early gestational days. in the present investi...

A consortium of biopharmaceutical companies previously developed an optimized Zebrafish developmental toxicity assay (ZEDTA) where chorionated embryos were exposed to non-proprietary test compounds from 5 to 6 h post fertilization and assessed for morphological integrity at 5 days post fertilization. With the original 20 test compounds, this achieved an overall predictive value for teratogenici...

Teratogens are compounds that can induce birth defects upon exposure of the developing fetus. To date, most teratogen studies utilize pregnant rodents to determine compound teratogenicity in vivo. However, this is a low throughput approach that cannot easily meet the need for comprehensive high-volume teratogen assessment, a goal of the US Environmental Protection Agency. In addition, rodent an...

Isotretinoin is a molecule and a byproduct (metabolite) of vitamin A, and in greater than normal amounts in pregnant women, it can cause fetal abnormalities including cleft lips, ear and eye defects, and mental retardation [5]. Isotretinoin is commonly called by its trade name Accutane, and it's a chemical compound derived from vitamin A, also called retinoic acid. Doctors prescribe isotretinoi...

The 1986 nuclear reactor accident at Chernobyl caused nonuniform radiocontamination of air and land, primarily within regions of the former Soviet Union and Western Europe. Major exposure groups included the reactor workers, villagers evacuated from within 30 km of the accident, the "liquidators" who decontaminated the evacuation zone afterward, those in radiocontaminated villages not evacuated...

objective: safety of lippia citriodora, as a herbal remedy, in pregnancy has not yet been evaluated. this study aimed to identify the effect of l. citriodora aqueous extract on pregnancy outcome in mice. materials and methods: timed-pregnant mice received doses of 0.5 g/kg/day l. citriodora aqueous extract or the vehicle control during organogenesis, intraperitoneally. maternal body weights wer...