Vitamin E and/or wheat germ oil supplementation ameliorate oxidative stress induced by cadmium chloride in pregnant rats and their fetuses

The present study aims to investigate the protective effect of vit. e and/or wgo against cd induced toxicity in pregnant rats and their fetuses. thirty pregnant rats were divided into five groups; control,cdcl2,cdcl2+vit. e,cdcl2+wgo and cdcl2+vit. e+wgo. oral administration of cdcl2 caused impairment in the hematological parameters as indicated by significant (p < 0.05) decrease in rbcs,hb,hct,plt s and wbcs in maternal rats and their fetuses. cdcl2 administration caused disturbances in the hepatic and renal functions as reflected by significant (p < 0.05) increase in alt,ast,creatinine and urea. also,cdcl2 administration caused an oxidative stress in the liver and kidney tissues of maternal rats and their fetuses. in addition,cdcl2 induced growth retardations as observed by significant (p < 0.05) depletion in fetal body weight,length and the number of alive fetuses and significant (p < 0.05) increase in the number of dead,absorbed and malformed fetuses. the pronounced abnormalities were: exencephaly,exophthalmia,open eyelids,microtia,short tail,short fore and hind limbs,umbilical hernia,and curvature in the vertebral column as compared to control group. the presence of vit. e and/or wgo with cdcl2 improved the all examined parameters. these natural substances could exhibit a protective effect in preventing physiological alterations and fetal malformations due to their potent antioxidant properties.