Effect of alcoholic consumption in pregnancy on pup quality, exploratory behaviour, memory retention in wistar rats

Prenatal exposure to alcohol can affect both prenatal and postnatal neurogenesis in the developing brain and impair brain function in their early life. Aim: Our study was aimed to assess the effect of prenatal alcoholic exposure on memory retention and exploratory behavior in young adult rats. We also studied the effect of maternal alcohol intake on pup quality, mortality rate and post natal weight gain of the pups during their weaning period. Methods: Female rats were divided into control and alcohol fed group. Rats in alcoholic group were orally fed (force feeding) with 30% alcohol at a dose of 5g/kg /day. Treatment was started 14 days before mating, continued throughout their gestation period and weaning period. Control group was administrated with equivalent volume of water. Offspring from each group were divided into male and female group. Birth weight, crown-rump length, litter size were taken from the day of delivery, whereas cognitive function test were done from 75th day of post natal life. Statistics: Data obtained from the tests were analyzed by applying independent T test. Results: Single dose of 5g/kg/day maternal ethanol treatment decreased the memory retention (p=0.003), decreased the weight gain during weaning period (p=0.000), increased the locomotor activities (p=0.05) and increased the mortality rate of pups during weaning period. No significant change was observed in the pup quality between control mother and alcoholic mother. Conclusion: The present study showed that maternal alcohol consumption could affect mortality rate of the pups and their post natal weight gain during weaning period. It also affects their cognitive behaviour and locomotor activities in their later life.