Obtainment and Study of the Toxicity of Perillyl Alcohol Nanoemulsion on Zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Introduction: Perillyl alcohol (POH) is a hydroxylated monocyclic monoterpene found in lemon and lavender essential oils, among others. It’s widely recognized by antitumoral activity. Despite the great potential of nanoformulations for pharmaceutics, to the date the obtainment a perillyl alcohol-nanoemulsion (NPOH) and its toxicity investigation were not previously reported. On this context, the present study aim to evaluate the toxicity of NPOH on zebrafish (Danio rerio). Lethal concentration (LC50), effects on behaviour and acute administrations effects (48h) on histopathological parameters of the gills, liver and kidneys were performed. Results: Exposure to different concentrations of NPOH (25, 35, 50 e 125 µg/L - expressed as POH content) allowed determination of LC50= 33.4 µg/L. Moreover, NPOH at 50 and 125 µg/L induced 100% of mortality, in addition the alterations of behavior. NPOH at 25 and 35 µg/L induced higher damage to gills tissue when compared to remaining concentrations and control group (surfactant at 125 µg/L) (p < 0.001, p < 0.01 and p < 0.05, Anova, Tukey-Kramer test). NPOH at 25, 35 e 50 µg/L induced significative damage to liver tissue, when compared to control (p < 0.01 and p < 0.05). No significant histopathological alterations were observed in kidneys. Thus, our results suggest that NPOH present toxicity pattern in accordance to nanoformulations and xenobiotics.