Effects of Oral Consumption of Nicotiana Tabacum During Pregnancy on the Liver and Prolactin Levels of Adult Female Wistar Rats

Abstract

Introduction: Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) is a globally consumed plant that contains harmful alkaloids such as nicotine. Aim: To study the effects of tobacco consumption during pregnancy on the liver and prolactin levels of adult female Wistar rats. Materials and Methods: The research was done using 21 female Wistar rats which were randomly and evenly separated into groups I, II and III. Pregnant rats in groups II (GII) and III(GIII) received 0.32 g/kg and 0.64 g/kg body weight of tobacco respectively with the use of an oral gavage while pregnant rats in the control group (GI) did not receive the stock solution. On the 23rd day, blood samples and the livers were collected for examination. Blood samples were collected from the mother rats forthe estimation of Aspartate aminotransferase (AST), Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and total bilirubin levels. The liverswere stained with Hematoxylin and Eosin stains to examine the histological architecture. Results: Liver enzyme assays on the mother rats showed that AST for GII (54.67±3.06 iu/L) and GIII(55.00±7.02 iu/L) were not significantly different (p>0.05) from GI(56.00±0.00 iu/L) using Tukey post hoc test. ALT for GII (41.67±3.51 iu/L) and GIII (47.00±2.58 iu/L) were also not significantly different (p>0.05) from GI (45.00±1.41 iu/L). The total bilirubin value for GII (0.87±0.29 mg/dL) was not significantly different (p>0.05) from GI (0.85±0.07 mg/dL), but total bilirubin for GIII (1.88±0.22 mg/dL) was significantly different(p<0.05) to that of GI. There was a significant decrease(p<0.05) in prolactin levels of mother rats in GII (1.75±0.35 ng/ml) and GIII (1.50±0.71 ng/ml) when compared to GI (11.15±0.35 ng/ml). Histological findings showed that the liver of mother rats in GII and GIII were damaged. Conclusion: The consumption of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) by female Wistar rats during pregnancy inhibits prolactin secretion and severely alters theliver histological architecture.