Effect Of Garri Consumption On Fertility And Pregnancy Outcome In Sprague Dawley Rats

I I Olatunji-Bello And C Q Onwudinjo

SUMMARY

Objective: The present study was designed to investigate the effect of garri consumption, a high carbohydrate diet, on the fertility and outcome of pregnancy in rats that were fed this diet before and throughout pregnancy.

Research Methods: A total of 36 Sprague-Dawley rats (28 females and 8 males) with ages ranging from 18 to 20 weeks (mean age was 19 weeks) were randomly selected. The rats were divided into control and garri-fed groups. The control group (n=14) received normal rat pellets and drinking water ad libitum and were mated in the 4th week of the experiment. The garri-fed group (n=14) had garri plus ground rat pellets in the ratio of 1: 1 and normal drinking water. They were also mated in the 4th week of the study. The two groups of rats were weighed weekly and blood glucose levels of these rats were measured at the start, and the end of the experiment. Vaginal smear was performed on the female rats daily up to the day 1 of pregnancy, which was determined by the presence of sperms in the smear. The foetal weight, number of foetuses, numbers of resorption and implantation sites were determined after laparatomy on the 20th day of gestation and in the 3rd trimester of pregnancy,the gestation period of a rat being 21 days. Statistical analysis was performed using the Student’s unpaired t-test.

Results: There was no significant difference in the weight gained by the two groups at the end of the experiment although the blood glucose level in the garri-fed group was significantly higher than that of the control. However, in the garri-fed group, conception was delayed when compared with the control. The foetal weight was significantly higher in the garri-fed rats than that of the control rats (P < 0.001) while the number of foetuses in the garri-fed rat was significantly lower than that of the control (P = 0.010). The number of resorbed sites was significantly higher in the garri-fed rats than in the control (P = 0.035). The number of implanted sites in the garri-fed rats was not significantly different from that of the control (P = 0.085).

Conclusions: This result shows that garri consumption might reduce fertility by delaying conception and reducing the number of live foetuses. However, there is need to take caution in extrapolating these findings to humans. Niger Med. J, Vol 45, No. 1, January - March 2004: 5 - 8.

KEY WORDS: Garri, Cassava, Fertility, Pregnancy outcome.