Efficacy of eco-friendly synthesized silver nanoparticles in ameliorating tartrazine induced reproductive toxicity in Japanese quails

Tartrazine, a synthetic azo dye that imparts a lemon-yellow color, is widely used in food products. Tartrazine has raised health concerns due to its potential to induce physiological and biochemical disruptions in different species. This study aimed to evaluate the protective effect of AgNPs synthesized from Azadirachta indica against tartrazine-induced reproductive toxicity using Japanese quail as an animal model. For this purpose, a total of 672, 14-day-old Japanese quails were purchased and, after a 10-day acclimatization period, were equally divided into 7 treatment groups (96 birds per group) with six replicates and a sex ratio of 1 male to 3 females. Group 1 served as the control and received a basal diet only. Groups 2 and 3 were administered tartrazine at doses of 10 and 20 mg/kg body weight, respectively. Groups 4 and 5 received tartrazine (10 mg/kg body weight) in combination with AgNPs at doses of 4 and 8 mg/kg body weight, respectively. Groups 6 and 7 received tartrazine (20 mg/kg body weight) combined with AgNPs at doses of 4 and 8 mg/kg body weight, respectively. The trial spanned 11 weeks. Reproductive toxicity was assessed by evaluating hen-day egg production, fertility, hatchability, embryo mortality, gonadal weight, and hormone levels. Tartrazine exposure significantly altered reproductive parameters in Japanese quails, as evidenced by reduced hen-day egg production, fertility, hatchability, gonadal weight, and disrupted hormone levels (p < 0.05). The highest reproductive toxicity was observed in quails administered Tz at 20 mg/kg body weight. However, AgNPs administration effectively restored reproductive parameters toward control levels, with the Tz (10 mg/kg) and AgNPs (8 mg/kg) co-treated group exhibiting the greatest improvement. In conclusion, tartrazine exposure induced reproductive aberrations in Japanese quails. However, green synthesized AgNPs proved effective in ameliorating tartrazine-induced toxicity, as their administration significantly improved reproductive health.