RESUMO
This study was carried out in the animal house laboratories of the Department of biology in the Faculty of Education for Girls/University of Kufa from 1/6/2018 until 1/8/2018, for the purpose of demonstrating the possible preventive effects of vitamin C against skeletal malformations in embryos in pregnancy for 20 days (prenatal) and postnatal newborns respectively for pregnant female rats that treated with indomethacin with a concentration of 8.40 mg/kg. In the current study, 40 female rats (aged 12 weeks) with a mean weight of (135.5 g) were employed and 40 fertile males with age (12 weeks). The females were placed with males for matting, and after obtaining the required number of pregnant female rats, which were divided into (4) main groups, each group contained 10 pregnant female rats. The first group was treated with normal saline that was represented the control group, while the second group was administrated indomethacin drug with a concentration of 8.40 mg/kg only, whereas the third group was subjected to vitamin C with concentration of 85 mg/kg only, and the fourth group was submitted to vitamin C with concentration of 85 mg/kg + indomethacin drug with a concentration of 8.40 mg/kg. Moreover, all the females in the four groups were orally administrated with a special administration tube(gavage) from the first day of pregnancy until delivery and by a dose every day, (5) female rats were explained during pregnancy for 20 days(prenatal), while the remaining (5) female rats were left in each major group to postpartum, the weights of prenatal fetuses and neonatal were measured, as well as skeletal structures(bone skeletons) of prenatal fetuses and postnatal were cleared for studying the structural skeletal changes and abnormalities. The results of this study showed that there was a significant decrease (P 0.05) between these two groups. Also, the findings of present study pointed to a significant decrease (p 0.05)were revealed when the groups that treated with vitamin C with a concentration of 85 mg/kg and the groups of vitamin C with a concentration of 85 mg/kg + indomethacin drug with a concentration of 8.40 mg/kg were compared with each other. Furthermore, the data did not show any skeletal malformations of the fetuses during pregnancy for (20) days (prenatal)and postpartum births in the control groups and groups that orally given vitamin C with a concentration of 85 mg/kg, as well as the groups of vitamin C with a concentration of 85 mg/kg + indomethacin drug with a concentration of 8.40 mg/kg respectively in comparison to the other experimental groups submitted to indomethacin drug with a concentration of 8.40.1 mg/kg which showed various skeletal abnormalities were observed in the fetuses during pregnancy for (20) days (prenatal)and postpartum births in these groups when compared with the control groups and the other study groups.