The effects of caffeine and carvedilol on skeletal system of rat embryos in prenatal period

Caffeine at high doses is a known rodent teratogen and induces limb malformations along with cleft palate in various strains of rats and mice. The teratogenic effects of some drugs can be prevented by the application of antioxidant drugs and stimulation of the maternal immune system. Also, there are some evidence that carvedilol is antioxidant. Therefore, in this study, the prophylactic effect of carvedilol on teratogenic effects of caffeine was evaluated. This study was performed on 24 pregnant rats that were divided into four groups. Control group received normal saline and test groups received caffeine (80 mg/kg), caffeine (80 mg/kg) plus carvedilol (5 mg/kg) and carvedilol (5 mg/kg), intraperitoneally at 9 to 11 th days of gestation, respectively. Fetuses were collected at 20 th day of gestation and after determination of weight and length, they were stained by Alizarin red - Alcian blue method. Cleft palate incidence was 33.33% in fetuses of rats that received only caffeine, while it was 2.85% in group which received caffeine plus carvedilol (5 mg/kg). The means of weight and length of fetuses from rats that received carvedilol were significantly greater than those that received only caffeine. It is concluded that carvedilol decreased cleft palate induced by caffeine, but this subject needs more detailed evaluation.