Analysis of the anti-teratogenic potential of taurine in ethanol-exposed zebrafish embryos

Abstract

Taurine is a widely-used amino acid that has shown antioxidative properties. Since past studies have partially attributed teratogenicity to oxidative stress, the researchers sought to elucidate if Taurine would induce anti-teratogenic properties in Danio rerio embryos. The experiment utilized ethanol as the main teratogen and each setup included various dilutions of a 4% ethanol solution with either a 100%, 50%, or 25% w/v taurine solution. Reconstituted water and 4% ethanol served as the negative and positive control, respectively. The researchers found that embryos exposed to 1:1 dilutions of taurine & ethanol expressed reduced mortality and increased hatching when compared to the positive control while those exposed to 3:1 dilutions had unchanged high mortality and even reduced hatching rate. Thus, the researchers have concluded that Taurine can induce antiteratogenic properties only at specific combination with the 4% ETOH as the teratogen. However, since the 3:1 dilutions did not express these properties and even had reduced hatching, then these anti-teratogenic properties cannot be conclusively confirmed and deleterious effects may even be induced when taurine and ethanol are present in different concentrations.