Abstract

TERATOGENIC EFFECTS OF MODAFINIL ON EARLY EMBRYONIC DEVELOPMENT OF GALLUS GALLUS DOMESTICUS

Pinakin Wagh*, Shubham Hajare and Mrunal Desai

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Abstract

Modafinil is a wakefulness promoting drug prescribed for narcolepsy and sleep apnea. Our experiment was aimed to study the effects of Modafinil on early developmental stages of chick embryos (Gallus gallus domesticus). For this, early developmental stages of chick embryos were treated with 10 mM and 100 mM of Modafinil. Modafinil induces mild to severe teratogenesis in a dose-dependent manner. This study can be extrapolated for the evaluation of the effects of Modafinil on gestating and lactating women, so as to prevent teratogenesis in the developing foetus. More studies on Nootropics like Modafinil and its derivatives need to be carried out to study their effects on developmentally regulated gene expression.

Keywords: Modafinil, Teratogenesis, Chick Embryos, NTDs, Nootropics, Hamburger- Hamilton (HH) staging system.