Developmental abnormalities due to fresh garlic (Allium sativum L.) juice exposure have been previously reported on zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos. Freshly made garlic juice (FGJ) containing allicin as a main ingredient and aged garlic extract (AGE) containing mainly S-allyl-L-cysteine were evaluated to investigate the lethality during a 5-day assay using zebrafish embryos, starting from 2 hours post fertilization (hpf), in a static system at an garlic concentration range of 0.00001–0.1%. In addition, lethality comparison between embryos and 3 days of post fertilization (dpf) larvae was performed. The results indicate that the mortality rate is positively correlated to the concentration of FGJ. Lethal concentration for the 24-h LC20 and 24-h LC50 in zebrafish embryos exposure was determined as 0.034% and 0.021%. The corresponding values for larval forms were significantly higher, 0.081% and 0.073% (P < 0.01), suggesting a greater sensitivity of developing embryos to FGJ treatment, as well as no protection from an embryo’s chorion. Below the FGJ concentrations of 0.02% (for embryos) and 0.06% (for larvae), no increase in mortality was observed over the entire exposure time. The mortality of AGE-treated embryos did not differ significantly (P = 0.571) from the control regardless of exposure duration and AGE concentration. The overall results indicate that zebrafish embryos constitute a reliable model for testing the developmental toxicity of garlic, and that different types of garlic preparations have different pharmacologic properties.

22.4.2017