Histopathology and cholinergic assessment of Pterocarya fraxinifolia on chicken embryo.

There are no reports of toxicological studies of Pterocarya fraxinifolia. The leaves are used for fishing, which also an anesthetic agent. Currently, many drugs utilized in anesthesia practice are modified cholinergic transmission and acetylcholine esterase inhibitors; these are parts of anaesthetic pharmacy. Therefore, cholinergic assessment was surveyed in chicken embryo, which Pterocarya fraxinifolia extractes were injected in 0.1, 1 and 10 mg concentration at day 4 of incubation. Serum and brain cholinesterase were analyzed on day 20 of incubation. The signs were not due to the changes of cholinesterase activity. In histopathology examination, massive necrosis was observed in the spinal cord. Other tissues such as heart, kidneys, skeletal bones and muscles, trachea and lungs, digestive system and endocrine glands were completely developed. This data suggests that the spinal cord is a target organ of the bioactive component of this plant.