Teratogenic Toxicity Test of Herbicide Products Using Zebra Fish (Danio rerio)

The use of herbicides in agricultural practices has increased significantly in recent decades. Herbicides are used to control weeds that interfere with crop growth, but their impact on the environment, animals, and humans is still a concern. One major concern is the potential for teratogenic effects, which is the ability of a substance to cause malformations or developmental defects during the early stages of life.

Therefore, in-depth testing is necessary to assess the teratogenic potential of widely used herbicides. One effective testing method is using zebrafish (Danio rerio) as an organism model. This testing is important because it allows researchers to observe the direct effects of herbicide exposure on early embryonic development. By monitoring various parameters such as survival, growth, morphological development, and organ function, teratogenic tests can provide a clear picture of the potential dangers posed by herbicides to living organisms.

farmer-spraying-vegetables-garden-with-herbicides-man-black-apron by freepik. uji toksisitas, uji pestisida, uji herbisida
Getting to Know the Zebra Fish: The Small One that is Popular in the World of Toxicology

Zebrafish are a popular model organism in toxicology research because they have many advantages. Their rapid life cycle, ease of maintenance, and transparent embryos make them ideal for observing early development. In addition, zebrafish have quite significant genetic similarities to humans. About 70% of human genes are homologous to zebrafish, making them a relevant model in the study of development and toxicological effects on living things.

Zebrafish embryos develop outside the mother's body and can absorb chemicals directly from the aquatic environment, allowing researchers to expose embryos to herbicides or other chemicals directly and observe their effects on embryonic development, including teratogenic potential such as physical defects, growth disorders, or embryo death.

Teratogenic testing on zebrafish begins by placing newly fertilized embryos into a medium containing a solution of the herbicide to be tested. The concentration of herbicide is usually varied to see the response to different doses and determine the safest or most dangerous dose level.

Some of the main indicators observed in this test include survival, growth, morphoanatomical, heart development, and egg hatching success rates. Survival observations are carried out to determine whether the embryo is able to survive after being exposed to herbicides. Growth is assessed by measuring body length, organ size, and other growth parameters. Meanwhile, morphoanatomical observations include the presence of malformations or developmental defects, such as abnormalities in the head, fins, eyes, or spine. Herbicides often affect the cardiovascular system, so the embryonic heart rate is also an important parameter to monitor. In addition, the success of hatching from embryos to larvae is also a key indicator to assess the potential toxicity of chemicals.

Overall, teratogenic toxicity testing using zebrafish is an important tool in herbicide risk assessment. With the advantage of zebrafish as a model organism, testing to determine the impact of herbicides on early life development can be done quickly and efficiently. Although not all herbicides directly cause teratogenic effects, ongoing research is needed to ensure that exposure to these chemicals remains within safe limits. Efforts to find more environmentally friendly alternatives are also very important in maintaining the balance between productive agriculture and ecosystem health.

Well, how about getting to know more about the teratogenic toxicity testing methods of herbicide products using zebrafish? More curious about other toxicity testing methods? Don't forget to wait for our upcoming articles!

Author : Rahmidevi Alfiani 

 

 

REFERENCE 

Keshari, V., Adeeb, B., Simmons, A. E., Simmons, T. W., & Diep, C. Q. (2016). Zebrafish as a model to assess the teratogenic potential of nitrite. Journal of visualized experiments: JoVE, (108).

Mulyani, T., Ida Julianti, C., & Sihombing, R. (2020). Tinjauan Pustaka: Teknik Pengujian Toksisitas Teratogenik Pada Obat Herbal. J Farm Udayana9(1), 31.

Selderslaghs, I. W., Van Rompay, A. R., De Coen, W., & Witters, H. E. (2009). Development of a screening assay to identify teratogenic and embryotoxic chemicals using the zebrafish embryo. Reproductive toxicology28(3), 308-320.

Teixidó, E., Piqué, E., Gómez-Catalán, J., & Llobet, J. M. (2013). Assessment of developmental delay in the zebrafish embryo teratogenicity assay. Toxicology in Vitro27(1), 469-478.

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