Nicotine and Cytisine Embryotoxicity in the Experimental Zebrafish Model

Abstract

Tobacco smoking is one of the most serious health problems. Potentially lethal effects of nicotine for adults can occur with as little as 30 to 60 mg, although severe symptoms can arise with lower doses. Furthermore, the route of administration also influences the toxicity. Cytisine is one of the most popular medications in nicotinism treatment. Like nicotine, cytisine is a plant alkaloid, signaling through nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. Our study evaluated the effects of cytisine in nicotine-induced embryotoxic effects using zebrafish larvae. We examined the teratogenicity of nicotine and cytisine alone or in combination. Nicotine increased mortality and delayed hatching of zebrafish larvae in a dose-dependent manner. Cytisine did not affect mortality in a wide range of concentrations, and hatching delay was observed only at the highest concentrations, above 2 mM. Administering compounds together partially reduced the adverse teratogenic effect induced by nicotine alone. The protective effect of cytisine against the nicotine effect, observed in zebrafish, will contribute to future studies or treatments related to nicotine addiction or prenatal nicotine exposure in humans.

Effects of smokeless nicotine on blood physiology, biochemical, and histological alterations using Labeo rohita as a model organism

“…Most of these investigations have been conducted on rodents, specifically rats and mice. However, there is also data available from studies conducted on other animal species, such as monkeys, zebrafish, and canines, as well as from human volunteers, as reported by Świątkowski et al [ 12 ]. The primary goals of this study were to investigate the impact of smokeless nicotine on several aspects of the hematological parameters, lipid profile, kidney function, liver enzymes, metabolism, and histological changes in different organs of the freshwater fish L. rohita .…”