Toxic effect of Malathion on mouse embryo development before implantation

Malathion is a widely used organophosphorus insecticide due to its relatively low acute toxicity. The purpose of this research was to preliminary evaluate the severity of impact on mammalian preimplantation embryo development by malathion. Pregnant female mice were administered intraperitoneally for four days with the following concentrations: 0 mg/kg b.w., 50 mg/kg b.w, and 75 mg/kg b.w., begining on day 1 of pregnancy. At 87-88 h post copula, females were sacrificed and the embryos were flushed. The ovaries were also removed for counting corpora lutea. Malathion, at the doses administered in the present work, inhibited the formation of blastocyst and adversely influenced embryo viability. Embryo migration was slightly delayed in malathion treated female.