Effects of phytosterols on zebrafish reproduction in multigeneration test

Zebrafish from mixed sex populations were exposed continuously across three generations to two phytosterol preparations both containing beta-sitosterol. The phytosterols were isolated from wood and soy beans. Blood vitellogenin levels and sex ratio changes were used as intermediate indicators of the reproduction failures. Both sterol preparations caused vitellogenin induction in the exposed fish. The wood sterol changed the sex ratio of the exposed fish. In generation F1, the predominant sex was male, and in generation F2 it was female. The soy sterol in the used test concentration was lethal to the exposed fish in generation F1. This multigeneration test evidenced that phytosterols containing beta-sitosterol disrupt the reproduction system of zebrafish by changing the sex ratios and by inducing the vitellogenin production in the exposed fish. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.