Effects of prenatal exposure to Actifed® on motor reflexes and physical development of mice offspring.

The effect of prenatal exposure to Actifed(R) was assessed in mice offspring through early postnatal development stages. Pregnant dams were given daily sub-cutaneous injections in the nape of the neck with either vehicle (0.9% saline) or Actifed(R) doses (5 and 10 mg/kg body weight/day). The postnatal body weight gain, the body hair appearance and the eye opening were suppressed significantly (p<0.05) in the pups. The maturation of sensory motor reflexes, such as righting and rotating reflexes, were delayed significantly in the pups during the early postnatal development period. It appears that there were some dose-related effects of the treatment where the higher dose was more effective than the lower. The cliff avoidance activity was significantly retarded in the treated pups (p<0.05), but only at the higher dose (10mg/kg). It was concluded from the present study that Actifed(R) administration during pregnancy may affect the physical development as well as the maturation of sensory motor reflexes in the early postnatally developing pups and these effects appear to be transient rather than long-lasting. Thus, Actifed(R), if consumed during pregnancy, may have deleterious effects on the in utero developing child.