Morphological effect of choloroquine on developing ovaries of rats

Aim: to study the morphological changes of ovaries in the offspring of female rats exposed to chloroquine during gestation. methods: in this experimental study 30 female rats and 10 male rats were selected. they were divided into five groups containing 6 rats in each group. total gestational period in rats is 21 days; it was divided into three trimesters each of 7 days. chloroquine phosphate (resochin,bayer) in powdered form was used. after dissection ovaries were weighed and observed for detailed morphological changes. results: gross appearance of adult female pregnant rats in control and experimental groups were normal and their female offspring at the time of delivery were also normal and active. morphological evaluation revealed that effects of chloroquine on adult rats organs e.g.,eyes,muscles,liver,kidney and cardiovascular system are established. chloroquine administration during gestational period has adversely affected the paired ovarian weight & relative tissue weight indices at puberty in all the experimental groups. chloroquine renders the organs more susceptible to subsequent oxidative stress it also causes decrease in activities of catalase. conclusion: it is concluded that chloroquine which is widely used as anti-malarial drug in our country for the treatment of malaria requires proper evaluation for its possible teratogenic effects.