Inhibitory effect of chlorpromazine on rat reproduction: a test of administration for nine weeks before breeding

The effect of chlorpromazine (CPZ) administration prior to insemination on reproduction was studied using male and female Sprague-Dawley strain rats evaluated over three generations. CPZ in doses of 12.5, 25, 50, and 100 mg/kg was administered to both male and female rats orally every day for 9 weeks before mating with the following results: 1) The duration of the estrous cycle was prolonged in the F0 females. 2) The incidence of insemination and pregnancy of the F0 males and females as well as the number of surviving fetuses and newborns showed a tendency to decrease. 3) The body weight of the rats in F0 and F1 generations decreased depending on the dose of CPZ, but the body weight of the F2 generation increased. 4) The wet weight of the major organs of the rats in F0 and F1 generations was affected by administration of CPZ at 100 mg/kg. The weights of the liver, kidney, adrenal, pituitary, testis, and prostate glands in males and the kidney, adrenal gland, and ovary in females were increased, whereas the weights of the pituitary and the uterus were decreased in females. These results suggest that premating administration of CPZ to the parent rats exerts influence on the reproduction of the F0 and F1 generations.