Effects of maternal exposure to aflatoxin B1 during pregnancy on fertility output of dams and developmental, behavioral and reproductive consequences in female offspring using a rat model

AbstractA suboptimal in utero environment can have detrimental effects on the pregnancy and long-term adverse “programing” effects on the offspring. Aflatoxin B1 is one of the potent reproductive toxicants and currently detected in both milk and tissues. This article focuses on the effects of prenatal exposure to graded doses of aflatoxin B1 on the pregnancy outcomes of dams and postnatal developments of the female offspring, since these issues have ethological relevance in both animals and humans. Pregnant Wistar rats were injected intramuscularly with vehicle or aflatoxin B1 (10, 20, 50 or 100 μg/kg body weight/day) on days 12–19 of gestation. At parturition, newborns were observed for clinical signs of toxicity and survival. The female offspring were examined through a battery of tests in order to evaluate their developmental, behavioral and reproductive end points. All animals were born alive. The litter size of the aflatoxin B1 treated rats was comparable to the controls. However, the birth weight of...