The role of dietary fat in alcohol's prenatal effects.
Pregnant rats were fed a control diet or high saturated fat diet (lard) for 6 weeks prior to breeding and continued to consume these diets during pregnancy. Beginning on gestation day 8, rats in each diet group were intubated with 5.5 or 0 g/kg alcohol. Rats in the 0 g/kg group were pair-fed to those in their respective 5.5 g/kg groups. Offspring were weighed at birth. On postnatal days 18 and 20, they were tested for passive avoidance learning and locomotor activity, respectively. Animals prenatally exposed to alcohol weighed less at birth and at weaning time (21 days of age) and required more trials to reach criterion in the passive avoidance test but did not differ in activity. Diet did not affect any of these measures significantly nor were there any significant interactions. We conclude that high saturated fat from lard does not influence alcohol's prenatal effects.
Abel
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Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, C.S. Mott Center for Human Growth and Development, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48201, USA. e.abel@wayne.edu
D000818:Animals; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000187:drug effects*; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D000431:Ethanol / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants; D004041:Dietary Fats; D000431:Ethanol; C029310:lard