Study on the effects of gestational and lactational administration of caffeine on the cornea and retina of the albino rat offsprings

ABSTRACT

Caffeine was a methylated xanthine derivative, widely used psycho-stimulant that is self-administered by population and present in numerous drugs and dietary products. It was a legal stimulant that is readily available even to pregnant women and children. Caffeine crossed the placenta easily, passed to the amniotic fluid, umbilical cord blood and appeared in the urine and plasma of the neonates. It was diffused readily into the breast milk, A total number of 18 adult female albino rats were used. They were divided into three groups, one control group and two experimental groups, each was formed of 6 animals. The control group received distilled water during gestation and lactational period, the first experimental group received caffeine powder dissolved in distilled water using a oro-gastric tube in a single dose of 25 mg/kg/ day from the day zero of pregnancy until the day of labor while the second experimental group received a single dose of 25 mg/kg/ day during lactational period only until the age of weaning. The litters of the first experimental and half of the control group were sacrificed just after being delivered while those of the second experimental and other half of the control were sacrificed at the age of twenty two postnatal days. Ten litters from each group were used. The specimens obtained from the right eyes were prepared as semithin sections for histological and morphometric studies. The litters of the experimental groups revealed increased thickness of the corneal epithelial layer, prominent Descemet 's membrane, thickened endothelial layer and an apparently normal corneal stroma. The total thickness of the retina and the thicknesses of different retinal layers of the experimental groups revealed marked significant reduction in comparison to the control groups in the newly-born and twenty two days old rats