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Prenatal Equol Treatment: Does Not Alter Newborn Genital Development but Alters Depressive‐like Behaviors in Pre‐pubertal Offspring.
Author(s) -
Blake Crystal,
Fabick Kim,
Setchell Kenneth D,
Lephart Edwin
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.23.1_supplement.733.1
Subject(s) - equol , offspring , endocrinology , medicine , daidzein , anogenital distance , pregnancy , gestation , flutamide , sex organ , physiology , fetus , in utero , androgen receptor , biology , genistein , prostate cancer , cancer , genetics
In this study we examined equol, the intestinal metabolite of daidzein, and its effects on genital morphology and subsequent postnatal behavior. Pregnant rats were divided into six treatment groups before subcutaneous injection treatments: 1) Non‐injected Controls, 2) dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)‐injected controls, 3) Equol at 10.5 mg/Kg (in DMSO), 4) Equol at 21.0 mg/Kg (in DMSO), 5) Equol at 63.0 mg/Kg (in DMSO), and 6) Flutamide (90 mg/Kg, androgen‐receptor blocker). The mothers received daily treatment injections from gestational days 14‐20. After birth, body weight and anogenital distance (AGD) were measured and sex determined. Some of the pups and mothers (a subset at birth) were sacrificed and trunk blood collected for determining isoflavone and 5alpha‐dihydrotestosterone (5alpha‐DHT) levels. The remainder of the pups developed postnatally until day 29 where animals underwent analysis via the Porsolt forced swim test to determine depressive‐like behaviors. In summary, equol exposure during late pregnancy 1) does not alter 5alpha‐DHT levels in the males or females or alter male external genital development, 2) the high equol dosed mothers weighed the least before and after birth and their offspring also weighed the least at birth, and 3) after birth the high dosed equol treated animals that gained the most weight postnatally displayed the least depressive‐like behaviors. (USDA 2004‐01811)