Toxicidade da fração hexânica de frutos e sementes de Ricinus communis (Euphorbiaceae) em embrião de Gallus gallus domesticus L.

Abstract

Considering the need to minimize the environmental impacts caused by pesticides, alternative methods that are less aggressive to ecosystems, such as the use of natural substances like essential oils and plant extracts, have been studied. Thus, the objective of this work is to analyze the effect of the hexane fraction of fruits and seeds extract of Ricinus communis, castor bean, on the initial embryonic development of Gallus gallus domesticus L. (chicken) as a non-target organism. Three concentrations of the hexane fraction of fruits and seeds of R. communis were tested, being 1%, 1.5% and 2%, and two control groups, being a closed control and a control with Tween® 80 (vehicle). Exposure of the chicken embryo to the hexane fraction of fruits and seeds occurred in two ways: by injection of the treatments directly into the egg air chamber and by spraying the treatments on the egg. Developmental evaluation occurred after three days of incubation, 72 hours, where live embryos were collected for morphological analysis using the total mount technique. Live, dead, and unviable embryos were counted for statistical analysis. After the analysis, it was observed that exposure of embryos to the hexanic extract, regardless of the concentration or form of exposure, causes reduction in the survival rate of G. gallus domesticus both when injected into the egg air chamber causing body malformations in the embryos.