Maternal and fetal liver histomorphological analysis of malnourished pregnant rats submitted to exposure to ethanol

Abstract

ABSTRACT This project aims to evaluate histologically the liver of pregnant Wistar rats and their offspring, treated with ethanol and subjected to a semipurified low-protein diet (6% protein), used as model of protein caloric malnutrition and semipurified normoprotein (18%). Fifteen pregnant rats were used in total and divided into five groups: one control group treated with a normal protein diet and gavage with distilled water, a group also treated with normal protein diet and gavage with ethanol, a group treated with low protein diet and distilled water and a group treated with low protein diet and ethanol. Ethanol and distilled water were administered from the 11th to 16th day of gestation, absolute ethanol PA 3 g/kg of body weight was diluted in distilled water. The animals were sacrificed on day 21 of gestation, in which the maternal and fetal liver were dissected and submerged in formaldehyde 10 % (maternal) and Bouin (fetal) to their histological analysis. In groups treated with ethanol, both the malnourished and nourished, and malnourished treated with water, we observed histological changes in maternal livers. Among fetuses, there were no histological changes in liver, but there were changes in weight and craniocaudal length in the malnourished group (p<0.001). This study demonstrated that the association between ethanol and malnutrition interfered significantly in weight and length of fetuses and caused histological alterations in maternal liver.