Dominant lethal mutations in rats fed extracts of Mucuna urens (Linn.)

Dominant lethal mutation assay was carried out on rats after being treated with graded doses of ethanol extract of the seeds of Mucuna urens. Male albino rats (Wistar strain) were caged in three groups labeled, groups II, III and IV and treated with three different dosages of the ethanol extract of the seeds of M. urens; 70, 140 and 210 mg/kg body weight (BW), respectively, for 14 days. The positive control animals (group I), were treated with distilled water for the entire period. At the end of the feeding period of two weeks, they were co-habited with virgin female albino rats at a ratio of 1:1 for 3 days. 14 days after mating, the females were sacrificed for the dominant lethal mutation assay. The results of the dominant lethal mutation assay showed that only female rats in group II had implants on the uterine horn, of all the treated groups. The rats in groups III and IV did not have any implants at all. Biological evaluations (pre-implantation losses) carried out showed 0, 76, 100 and 100% lethal mutations in groups I, II, III and IV, respectively. The statistical evaluations obtained showed 8.6b ± 0.47, 6.6a ± 0.94, 0 ± 0.0 and 0 ± 0.0 in groups I, II, III and IV, respectively. Photographs of the corpora lutea were obtained using a digital camera (DCR-HC48E, KODAK). The results obtained can be attributed to the induction of dominant lethal mutations in spermatocytes and early spermatids in the male Albino rats, showing the mutagenic effect of the seeds of the plant M. urens and its potential as a male contraceptive. Key words:  Mucuna urens seeds, dominant lethal mutations assay, mutagenesis, male Albino rats.