Testicular growth and testosterone levels in male wistar rat offspring exposed to alcohol during pregnancy and/or lactation

The effect of alcohol on testicular growth and testosterone levels in male rat offspring whose dams were exposed during pregnancy and/or lactation was investigated. Seventy-five adult female Wistar rats and their offspring were used. The female rats were divided into 3 groups of 25 each. The offspring of group 1 served as control, the offspring of group 2 was exposed to 2g/kg body weight of 30% ethanol (v/v) during pregnancy and lactation (APL) while those of group 3 was exposed to the same dose of ethanol during lactation only (AL).. At Day (D)7, D14, D21, D35 and D49 of postnatal life, 5 male offspring were randomly selected from the three groups and sacrificed. After the sacrifice, the two testes were dissected out and their weights determined. At D21, D35 and D49, blood sample for testosterone determination was collected from 5 male offspring. The result of the investigation showed significant reduction (P < 0.05) in relative weights of the testes and significant increase (P < 0.05) in testosterone levels in the alcohol-exposed male offspring relative to the controls. The reduced testicular weights and increased testosterone levels which persisted into adulthood may have implications for male fertility in offspring of dams who abuse alcohol during pregnancy and/or lactation.