Abstract

Airat Adeola Bakare , Rosemary Basiono Bassey, Chika Ann Onyeka, Francis Ikechukwu Duru

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of lime juice on the fetal parameters of Sprague-Dawley rats Materials and Methods: Forty adult female Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were used. They were randomly divided into 2 groups (I and II) of 10 rats each. The estrous cycles of the rats were studied for the first 16 days to establish cyclicity. The rats were mated with male SD rats of proven fertility on the estrous day (heat period) of estrous cycle. Rats in group I received 1ml of undiluted lime juice while rats in group II received distilled water by gastric gavage. The rats were sacrificed on the 20th day of gestation using chloroform anesthesia and fetal parameters were evaluated. Results: There was a reduction in the number of fetus of treated pregnant rats when compared to the control which has between eight to eleven litters. There was a significant reduction in the crown-rump length, weight and umbilical cord length of the fetus when compared with the control which was normal. Conclusion: Lime juice showed abortificient effect but no obvious teratogenic effect was observed