Comparison of behavioral teratogenic effects of ethanol and n-propanol administered by inhalation to rats

Despite extensive testing of ethanol, there has been little research on the reproductive effects of other alcohols. We investigated the behavioral teratogenicity of inhalation exposures to ethanol and n-propanol. Groups of 18 male (approximately 450 g) and 15 pregnant female Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed 7 hours/day for six weeks or throughout gestation, respectively, to 16 000, 10 000, or 0 ppm ethanol or to 7 000, 35 000, or 0 ppm n-propanol. Pregnant females exposed to 7 000 ppm n-propanol, but not to ethanol, showed reduced weight gain, and female offspring also had reduced weight gain through three weeks of age; there was also slight teratogenicity observed at this concentration. Exposed males were mated with unexposed females; fertility was reduced in males exposed to 7 000 ppm n-propanol (two viable litters from 17 matings), but there were no differences from controls in maternal weight gain, feed intake, or water consumption in any other groups. In both maternally- and paternally-exposed groups, litters were culled to four pups of each sex and fostered to untreated females. One female and one male pup per litter were administered tests of neuromotor coordination (ascent on wire mesh screen, rotorod), activity levels (open field, running wheel), or learning ability (avoidance, operant conditioning), but no significant differences from controls were found with either alcohol, despite the reduction in maternal and female offspring body weight and minimal teratogenicity with 7 000 ppm n-propanol. Calculations for predicting blood ethanol levels with inhalation exposure are also presented.