Research Paper
Year: 2019 | Month: October | Volume: 6 | Issue: 10 | Pages: 120-124
Effect of Folic Acid and Vitamin E Administration on Fetal Growth of Pregnant Rats (Rattus norvegicus) Exposed to Cigarette Smoke
Sendy Pratiwi Rahmadhani1, Rauza Sukma Rita2, Mohamad Reza3
1Master Program, School of Midwifery, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Andalas, Padang, Indonesia
2Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Andalas, Padang, Indonesia
3Department of Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Andalas, Padang, Indonesia
Corresponding Author: Mohamad Reza/Sendy Pratiwi Rahmadhani
ABSTRACT
Background: Cigarette smoke exposure can cause poor pregnancy outcomes in both mother and fetus. This study was aimed to investigate the effect of folic acid (5 mg/kgBW/day) and/or vitamin E (100 mg/kgBW/day) administration on fetal growth in pregnant rats (Rattus norvegicus) exposed to cigarette smoke (2 cigarettes/day).
Methods: The study was conducted by using post-test-only control group design. Thirty female rats (Rattus norvegicus) were divided into 5 groups (6 rats per group), namely the negative control group (without treatment), positive control group (CSE), treatment group 1 (FA+CSE), treatment group 2 (VE+CSE), and treatment group 3 (FA+VE+CSE). Oral administration of folic acid and/or vitamin E, cigarette smoke exposure is given from the first day to 19 days of pregnancy and terminates on the 20th day. Rats’ fetuses were weighed, body length was measured, and external malformations were observed using a magnifying glass. Data were analyzed using the non parametric Kruskal Wallis test and continued with the Mann Whitney test. A two-tailed P-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: The results of the study known there was a significant effect of folic acid and/or vitamin E administration on fetal body weight (p=0.009), fetal body length (p=0.014), and no significant effect of folic acid and/or vitamin E administration on fetal external malformations (p=0.382).
Conclusion: This analysis confirmed cigarette smoke exposure can inhibit the intrauterine fetal growth, and cause external malformations in the fetuses. Folic acid and/or vitamin E can minimize the teratogenic effects of cigarette smoke exposure.
Key words: Folic Acid, Vitamin E, Cigarette Smoke, Fetal Growth
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