Assessment of the Teratogenic Effects of Aqueous Extract of Lavandula angustifolia on BALB/c Female Mouse's Embryos in the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th Days of Gestation

Lavender has numerous effects such as analgesic, antidepressant, hypoglycemic, sedative and antioxidant properties and causes menstruation. The aim of the present study was to investigate the teratogenic effects of aqueous extract of Lavandula angustifolia on the development of BALB/c female mouse's embryos in the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th days of gestation. In this study, 60 adult female mice, weighing 26-28g, were randomly divided into 6 groups of 10 samples each (n = 10) including the control and the sham groups and four experimental groups, after copulation and observation of vaginal plaque, and Lavender aqueous extract was injected intraperitoneally in the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th days of gestation with the dose of 15 mg/kg mouse weight. Mice were anesthetized on day 16 of gestation. After dissection, the embryos were morphologically examined and the relevant histograms and charts were prepared. The results were assessed by using SPSS 23 software and one-way ANOVA test and Tukey test. The test significance levels were considered as p < 0.001 and p < 0.05. In the study, severe abnormalities including limb displacement from symmetry axis, encephalocele and no brain development, scoliosis, hemorrhage, spinal cord protrusion, eye protrusion, lack of limb, ear and eye development and exohepatic development was observed in embryos while the control and the sham groups had no abnormalities. The rate of limb displacement from symmetry axis and hemorrhage in the experimental group No. 4 were 100% and 96%, respectively, and in the experimental group No. 3, the hemorrhage abnormality was 70% and in the experimental group No. 2, limb displacement from symmetry axis was 55%. The results indicated that the aqueous extract of Lavender can cause abnormalities in mouse embryos due to its linalool composition, thus it is not recommended for use during pregnancy.