Uttam Shrestha, Mandavi Singh
ABSTRACT
Exposure to ethanol in utero is known to produce many congenital malformations in developing fetus. Ethanol depletes folic acid from the body which is essential for synthesis of DNA, RNA and protein during cell division and its requirement is increased during pregnancy. The objective of the present study was to observe whether folic acid reduces the adverse pregnancy outcome induced by ethanol exposure during pregnancy. Pregnant mice were divided into different experimental groups. Group I termed as control received distilled water, group II received ethanol, group III received ethanol and folic acid and group IV received folic acid only from gestational days 6 to 15. On GD 18, the dams were sacrificed. The fetuses were extruded and observed. In alcohol exposed dams the number of live fetuses was reduced while the numbers of fetuses with birth defects as well as resorbed/dead fetuses were significantly increased. Similarly the weight, CRL and tail length of fetuses of alcoholic dams were also severely affected. Folic acid reduces the adverse effect of ethanol. So the study showed that the adverse pregnancy outcome in alcoholic pregnancy might be due to folic acid deficiency which can be neutralized by folic acid supplementation.
Kew words: Ethanol, birth defects, fetal alcohol syndrome, gestation