PREVENTIVE EFFECT OF FOLIC ACID AND INOSITOL ON NEURAL TUBE DEFECTS INDUCED BY COTININE IN 2 DAY CHICK EMBRYO MODEL

Aruna Adepu and Sagar Narala*

ABSTRACT

The present study was aimed to screen the preventive effect of folic acid and inositol on cotinine induced neural tube defects using a 2 day chick embryo model. The drugs (i.e., cotinine, folic acid and inositol) were injected into white leghorn, fertile, specific pathogen free eggs between 26-29 hours (8th stage) of embryo development. After reaching the 12th stage, the embryos were processed for morphological and histopathological studies. Cotinine treated groups were observed with abnormal development at thoracic region of neural tube and transverse sections of cotinine treated neural tube shown the degenerative cells (94±2.4; mean± S.E.M. (standard error of the mean). Folic acid (56±2.4; mean± S.E.M.) and inositol (66±2.4; mean± S.E.M.) were proved to be effective in decreasing the degeneration of cells. Combined treatment of folic acid and inositol has shown better efficacy (7±1.2; mean± S.E.M.) when compared with their individual treatments. Folic acid in combination with the inositol can be used to prevent the neural tube defects caused by cotinine.

Keywords: Nicotine, Cotinine, Folic acid, Inositol, Neural tube defects