Effects of Anti-malarial Agents – Artesunate and Primaquine on the Cardiovascular System of a Chicken Embryo for Human Fetal Development

Malaria during pregnancy can have serious adverse symptoms and outcomes to the mother and fetus. This includes higher rates of miscarriage, premature delivery, low birth weight and neonatal death. The chicken embryo is an established model for developmental biology research. Like humans, chick embryos have similar developmental pathways that are highly conserved and are useful for biomedical relevance. In this study, early chick embryos were used to assess the effects of Artesunate and Primaquine on the development of the embryonic cardiovascular system. Embryos were treated with each drug at concentrations of 0.25mM, 0.5mM, 1mM, 5mM, and 10mM. After day 8 of incubation, the embryos were assessed for morphological defects and on day 11 for enzymatic activity. The administration of both Artesunate and Primaquine, after day 11, showed an adverse effect on embryonic cardiovascular morphology that included the destruction of the heart vascularization, heart walls, and an overall decrease in size with increasing concentrations. The heart rate decreased with increasing concentrations of Artesunate and resulted in embryonic death. The effects of Primaquine on embryonic hearts caused the heart rate to fluctuate with increasing concentrations. Evidence showed that administering Artesunate and Primaquine to a developing embryo can have harmful effects in the early stages of pregnancy