Abstract
Nineteen adult female albino rats and their litters (168 pups) were used to study some of the effects of feeding low levels of DES (0.6, 1.1, or 2.2 µg/100 gm body weight/day) for three days prior to breeding, and during gestation and lactation. The feeding of DES did not appear to have a measurable effect on conception or gestation. However, growth of the young of lactating rats receiving DES in their rations was retarded significantly (P < 0.01), indicating decreased lactation by females receiving food containing DES. Uteri of weanling females from treated dams were not stimulated, as judged by the uterine-weight-response method, indicating that estrogens were not excreted via the mammary gland in detectable quantities. Although there was a trend toward decreased total food intake by rats receiving DES during gestation and lactation, food intake apparently was sufficient for lactation, since all lactating females gained weight.
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