Abstract
Artificial sweeteners have become an important part of everyday food consumption. Pregnant women consume these substances with lack of awareness about their impact on embryo development. Nutrition during intrauterine life plays a crucial role in the congenital malformations. The aim of this study was to study the effect of commercial artificial sweeteners on the early development of chick embryo. The chick embryo provides a suitable model for in vivo evaluation of the toxicity. Two doses were used in this study 50mg/kg and 100mg/kg body weight. Fertile chicken eggs were injected once in the air chamber before incubation. Eggs were then incubated under normal incubation conditions. Embryos were extracted examined and photographed on day 2, 3, 4, and 5 of incubation. Growth retardation, abnormal brain and eye development were seen treated embryos. The heart rate of treated embryos of 4 day significantly decreased compared to the control. This study concluded that commercial artificial sweeteners present in the market had an association with abnormal development in chick embryos.