Developmental toxicity and estrogenic activity of antimicrobial phenolic-branched fatty acids using in silico simulations and in vivo and in vitro bioassay
Date
2024-09-02
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Frontiers in Toxicology
Abstract
Due to the growing safety and environmental concerns associated with biocides, phenolic-soy branched chain fatty acids (phenolic-soy BCFAs) are synthesized as new bio-based antimicrobial agents. Safety evaluation is essential before the wide adoption of these new antimicrobial products. This study was initiated to evaluate the safety of four phenolic-soy BCFAs (with phenol, thymol, carvacrol, or creosote branches). Methyl-branched iso-oleic acid, phenol, and creosote were included in the study as controls. In silico toxicity simulation tools predicted that the phenolic BCFAs had much higher toxicities to aquatic organisms than free phenolics did, while the opposite was predicted for rats. The developmental toxicity of four phenolic-soy BCFAs was assessed using an in vivo chicken embryonic assay. Results showed that creosote-soy BCFA had much lower mortality rates than creosote at the same dosages. Additionally, creosote-soy BCFA and methyl-branched iso-oleic acid induced minimal estrogenic activity in the concentration range of 10 nM - 1 µM. Carvacrol-soy BCFA treatments significantly increased (p < 0.05) oxidative stress levels with higher thiobarbituric acid reactive substances in the livers of chicken embryos. Altogether, the phenolic-soy BCFAs, especially creosote-soy BCFA, reported in this study are potentially promising and safer bio-based antimicrobial products.
Description
This article was originally published in Frontiers in Toxicology by Frontiers Media. The version of record is available at: https://doi.org/10.3389/ftox.2024.1380485. © 2024 Zhang, Ngo, Wagner, Fan and Wu.
© 2024 Zhang, Ngo, Wagner, Fan and Wu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Keywords
phenolics, fatty acids, developmental toxicity, chicken embryo, estrogenic activity
Citation
Zhang X, Ngo H, Wagner K, Fan X and Wu C (2024) Developmental toxicity and estrogenic activity of antimicrobial phenolic-branched fatty acids using in silico simulations and in vivo and in vitro bioassay. Front. Toxicol. 6:1380485. doi: 10.3389/ftox.2024.1380485