Toxicological consequences of chloroquine and ethanol on the developing fetus

In the present study, the effects of chloroquine and ethanol administration during gestation have been investigated on the developing rat fetus. Intragastric administration of chloroquine (700 mg/kg body weight) resulted in several structural abnormalities. The incidence of hepatomegaly was increased by 30%, the liquification of visceral organs was increased by 15% and a 9% higher incidence of cleft palate, wrist drop, clubbed foot and brain liquification was observed in the fetuses from the chloroquine-treated group compared to the corresponding controls. Fetuses from the chloroquine-treated group also showed a decrease of about 40% in the body weight and a 30% reduction in the ossification of the sternum. The teratogenic effects of oral ethanol administration in several respects were similar to those of the chloroquine. Ethanol, when administered as 30% of the total daily calories, resulted in growth retardation, resorption, still births, liquification of the brain, wrist drop and clubbed foot. Additionally, ethanol resulted in the inhibition of several metabolic pathways in the liver and brain of the developing fetuses. This included the inhibition of protein, RNA and DNA metabolism in the fetal livers and brains. The feto-toxic effects of these two xenobiotics and their possible molecular mechanisms have been discussed.