Prenatal exposure to phenobarbital permanently decreases testosterone and causes reproductive dysfunction.
Exposure of rats to phenobarbital during late prenatal development decreased the concentration of testosterone in plasma and the brain during the late fetal, early postnatal, pubertal, and adult periods, By decreasing the production of testosterone in the brain during the period of sexual differentiation, phenobarbital may lead to sexual dysfunction in later life.
D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000196:embryology; D005260:Female; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000139:chemically induced*; D008297:Male; D010634:Phenobarbital / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011270:Pregnancy, Animal / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D012733:Sex Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects*; D013737:Testis / Q000378:metabolism; D013739:Testosterone / Q000378:metabolism*
D013739:Testosterone; D010634:Phenobarbital