Evaluation of developmental toxicity and anti-agiogenic potential of essential oils from moringa peregrina seeds in zebrafish (danio rerio) model

Recently, essential oils from moringa seeds have been evaluated for their different biological potentials. However, their effect in embryonic development, either in human or animals, is not largely known. The current work was designed to investigate the developmental toxicity and in vivo anti-angiogenic effects of essential oils from Moringa oleifera and M. peregrina seeds on zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos. Fatty acid composition of both oils revealed higher levels of unsaturated ω-9 oleic acid (67.1 and 73.57% for M. oleifera and M. peregrina, respectively). On the other hand, major saturated fatty acids (palmitic, stearic and arachidic) recorded comparable combined levels (15.42 and 14.81% for M. oleifera and M. peregrina, respectively). Seed oils from M. oleifera and M. peregrina were toxic to zebrafish embryos at LD50 values of 21.24 ± 0.44 and 25.11 ± 0.547 μg/mL, respectively. However, sub-lethal doses of oils (10–20 μg/mL) showed stacking of blood cells around yolk area of treated embryos. Further investigation to this phenotype in zebrafish transgenic line Tg(fli1:EGFP) has confirmed malformed blood vessels in 100% treated embryos. In conclusion, essentials oils from M. oleifera and M. peregrina seeds represent an anti-angiogenic potential for combating cancer development.