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Chicken eggs of 4 or 6 days of incubation were injected with 10 mug 6-aminonicotinamide (6-AN) or 6-AN plus various doses of sodium ascorbate, calcium ascorbate, or ascorbic acid; 11-day embryos were examined grossly and histologically. 6-AN-treated embryos had various degrees of micromelia and were reduced in overall size. All three ascorbates inhibited 6-AN teratogenesis but not completely. The extent of inhibition was dose related. Increased amounts of intercellular matrix and decreased necrosis of chondrocytes in the limb cartilage of protected embryos correlated with the gross findings.

Methyl salicylate was administered topically to pregnant hamsters at 7d9h and the teratogenic results were compared with those obtained following oral treatment with the same compound. Both treatments produced the same defect in embryos recovered at day 9: failure of fusion of the neural tube, especially in the area of the developing brain. Analysis of serum salicylate levels following both treatments produced similar curves and indicated that teratogenic levels of salicylate can reach the maternal circulation after topical exposure.