[Postnatal development of rat progeny after antenatal nicotine exposure]

The authors studied the effect of a chemically pure nicotine on the development of the first-generation progeny after subcutaneous injection of the drug into female rats throughout the entire pregnancy. The drug was injected daily with a four-hour interval, the total doses being 5; 1,5 and 0.4 mg/kg (1/5, 1/20 and 1/70 of the LD50). Following nicotine treatment in doses of 5 and 1.5 mg/kg the survival rate and body mass of the progeny were found to be lowered. The disorders identified in the functions of the nervous system (behavioral reactions) and cardiovascular system (blood pressure, heart rate) were ascertained to be dependent on the drug dose and sex of experimental animals.