Dominant lethal study of alpha-asarone in male mice.
Alpha-asarone is a hypolipidaemic agent obtained from Guatteria gaumeri, a medical plant used in Mexico to treat hypercholesteraemia and cholelithiasis. alpha-Asarone has been shown to be hepatocarcinogenic and mutagenic in a human lymphocyte assay, a murine bone marrow cell assay and in an unscheduled DNA synthesis assay. In this study, alpha-asarone was tested for dominant lethal effects in male CF1 mice. The drug was given orally at doses of 0, 10 and 30 mg/kg per day for 5 days. Males were mated weekly with eight consecutive batches of naive, nulliparous female mice. Repeated matings revealed no perceptible effect of alpha-asarone on the incidence of pregnancy. Examination of surgically exposed uteri and ovaries of pregnant females on day 13-15 of gestation revealed an increased incidence of post-implantation loss. Semen examination of a separate group of mice showed a decreased concentration and motility of spermatozoa. These results suggest a dominant lethal mutation as well as direct alpha-asarone toxicity to spermatozoa by in treated mice.
Chamorro
G
G
Departamento de Toxicología, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, México DF, Mexico. chamorro@bios.encb.ipn.mx
Garduño
L
L
Martínez
E
E
Madrigal
E
E
Tamariz
J
J
Salazar
M
M
D000081248:Allylbenzene Derivatives; D000818:Animals; D000840:Anisoles / Q000633:toxicity*; D002273:Carcinogens / Q000633:toxicity*; D004247:DNA / Q000187:drug effects; D020964:Embryo Loss / Q000139:chemically induced; D004822:Epididymis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005799:Genes, Dominant; D005804:Genes, Lethal; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D009152:Mutagenicity Tests; D009929:Organ Size / Q000187:drug effects; D011247:Pregnancy; D012669:Seminal Vesicles / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D013076:Sperm Count / Q000187:drug effects*; D013081:Sperm Motility / Q000187:drug effects*; D013737:Testis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology
D000081248:Allylbenzene Derivatives; D000840:Anisoles; D002273:Carcinogens; C012195:asarone; D004247:DNA