[Effects of acetaldehyde exposure on maternal rats and their offspring]

The effects of intake of acetaldehyde, the proximal metabolite of ethanol, were studied in two groups of Fischer strain rats. Virgin rats were mated at 3 months of age or at 8 months of age. The acetaldehyde intake group (AcH) was given a 2% aqueous solution of acetaldehyde for the first time on the first day of pregnancy. The solution was then given once a day, oral net acetaldehyde 240 mg/kg b.w. through gestation, labor and lactation. The control group was not exposed to acetaldehyde. Comparative observations were made on both maternal rats and their offspring. 1) Maternal body weight gain between the first and 20th day of pregnancy was significantly low in the AcH group compared with the control group (3-month-old: p less than 0.05, 8-month-old: p less than 0.05). As for placental weight, 3-month-old AcH mothers showed no significant differences from the controls, whereas 8-month-old AcH mothers weighed significantly less than those in the control group (p less than 0.01). Histological investigation disclosed that the brain, liver, and kidney had slight changes in all AcH mothers, whereas the control group showed almost no changes. 2) The average number of fetuses at the 20th day of gestation, neonates per litter, did not significantly differ among the groups. 3) As for the body weight of the offspring of 3-month-old mothers, the AcH neonates and 10-day-old offspring weighed significantly less than those in the control group (p less than 0.01, p less than 0.01). In the case of 8-month-old mothers, the AcH fetuses at the 20th day of gestation and neonates weighed significantly less than the controls (p less than 0.01, p less than 0.01). 4) Histological study of the brain, lung, liver, kidney, and thymus in offspring revealed remarkable visceral immaturity and hemorrhage in the AcH group, as compared to the controls.