LUCENA, Tiago Cézar da Cruz.; DANTAS, Francelicia Pereira Marques.; FIGUEIREDO, Anna Priscilla Moreira de.; MEDEIROS, Rosane Maria Trindade de.; AMARAL, Franklin Riet Correa.; HARAGUCH, Mitsue.
Abstract:
Several abnormalities were observed in goats and sheep in Northeastern semiarid region in Brazil as palate
cleft, microphthalmia, scoliosis and permanent flexure of fore limbs. It has been demonstrated that these
abnormalities are caused by Mimosa tenuiflora ingestion. The aims of this work were to evaluate the
teratogenic effects of Mimosa tenuiflora etanolic and aqueous extracts in rats, to study the kinds of
abnormalities provoked by Mimosa tenuiflora during the pregnancy. For this, 36 pregnant Wistar rats were
used, distributed in three groups which two of them were experimental groups, which will receive by
“gavage” 0,03g the etanolic and aqueous extracts and the control group will receive water by “gavage” from
6th to 20th pregnancy day. In the experimental group that received aqueous extract was observed 6 kinds of
abnormalities as palate cleft, scoliosis and aplasia of two sternebrae which were statistically significant in
comparison to control group, but in the experimental group that received etanolic extract was observed 8
kinds of abnormalities as palate cleft, aplasia of one vertebrae and two sternebrae, and aplasia of one
caudal vertebrae and the increasing of anterior falanges were statistically significant in comparison to control
group. These results suggest that the seeds of Mimosa tenuiflora have teratogenic substances, and those
substances, yet unknown, are present in ethanolic and aqueous extracts of seeds of this plant.