PUBLICATION

Discovering Novel Bioactivities of Controversial Food Additives by Means of Simple Zebrafish Embryotoxicity (ZET) Assays

Authors
Duy-Thanh, D., Bich-Ngoc, N., Van den Bossche, F., Lai-Thanh, N., Muller, M.
ID
ZDB-PUB-230121-7
Date
2022
Source
Toxics   11(1): (Journal)
Registered Authors
Muller, Marc
Keywords
bioactivities, developmental toxicology, embryos, food additives, food safety, zebrafish
MeSH Terms
none
PubMed
36668734 Full text @ Toxics
Abstract
The rising concerns about controversial food additives' potential hazardous properties require extensive yet animal-minimized testing strategies. Zebrafish embryos are the ideal in vivo model representing both human and environmental health. In this study, we exposed zebrafish embryos to eight controversial food additives. Our results indicate that Sodium Benzoate is a Cat.3 aquatic toxicant, while Quinoline Yellow is a strong teratogen. At high concentrations, non-toxic chemicals induced similar phenotypes, suggesting the impact of ionic strength and the applicability of the darkened yolk phenotype as an indicator of nephrotoxicity. Three food additives showed unpredicted bioactivities on the zebrafish embryos: Brilliant Blue could weaken the embryonic yolk, Quinoline Yellow may interfere with nutrient metabolism, and Azorubine induced precocious zebrafish hatching. In conclusion, the zebrafish embryo is ideal for high throughput chemical safety and toxicity screening, allowing systematic detection of biological effects-especially those unexpected by targeted in vitro and in silico models. Additionally, our data suggest the need to reconsider the safety status of food additives Quinoline Yellow, Brilliant Blue, Sodium Benzoate, and other controversial food additives in further studies, as well as pave the way to further applications based on the newly found properties of Brilliant Blue and Azorubine.
Genes / Markers
Figures
Show all Figures
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping