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The effects of five types of tea solutions on epiboly process, neural and cardiovascular development, and locomotor capacity of zebrafish

Cell Biology and Toxicology volume 35, pages 205–217 (2019)Cite this article

Abstract

The effects of teas on embryonic development are still known little. The objective of this study was to compare and analyze developmental effects of green tea, delicate flavor oolong tea, strong flavor oolong tea, black tea, and pu’er tea using zebrafish embryos. Embryos were exposed in tea solutions from one-cell stage; the morphology, locomotor capacity, and gene expression of embryos or larvae were analyzed. The results showed that either tea could decrease the length of body and the size of head and eyes. The effect of green tea had the most significant effects on morphology. Only green tea disturbed cell movement, epiboly, and nervous system development. All five tea solutions caused heart structure alternations and lowered heart rates, and effects caused by green tea were severe. Green tea inhibited the formation of dorsal aorta and segmental arteries and decreased the velocity and total movement distance of larvae. In conclusion, the toxicity of green tea to epiboly, neural and cardiovascular development, and locomotor capacity is more severe than that of other teas. Our study played a warning role for safety consumption of teas and provided references for further study of tea’s physiological and pharmacological effects and biological activity.

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Funding

This research was funded under the Special Fund for Basic Research on Scientific Instruments from the Chinese National Natural Science Foundation (grant no. 61327802) and the Chinese National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 31770733).

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Author notes

  1. Xu Li, Qiuping Zhang and Xi Peng contributed equally to this work.

Affiliations

  1. Tianjin Key Laboratory of Tumor Microenvironment and Neurovascular Regulation, Department of Histology and Embryology, School of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China

    Xu Li, Qiuping Zhang, Jia Xu, Yuan Zhang & Dongyan Chen

  2. Department of Pathogenic Biology, School of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China

    Xi Peng

  3. College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China

    Jiaojiao Zhu & Yuhua Wang

  4. Beijing Center for Physical and Chemical Analysis, Beijing, 100089, China

    Yunhe An

Authors
  1. Xu Li
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  2. Qiuping Zhang
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  3. Xi Peng
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  4. Jia Xu
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  5. Yuan Zhang
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  6. Jiaojiao Zhu
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  7. Yuhua Wang
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  8. Yunhe An
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  9. Dongyan Chen
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Correspondence to Yuhua Wang, Yunhe An or Dongyan Chen.

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Li, X., Zhang, Q., Peng, X. et al. The effects of five types of tea solutions on epiboly process, neural and cardiovascular development, and locomotor capacity of zebrafish. Cell Biol Toxicol 35, 205–217 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10565-018-09453-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10565-018-09453-5

Keywords

  • Cardiovascular
  • Developmental toxicity
  • Locomotor capacity
  • Nervous
  • Tea
  • Zebrafish