The temperature of caffeine administered during pregnancy and foetal morphometric parameters

Background: Caffeine is one of the most frequently ingested (at various temperatures) xenobiotics by people. A number of studies have confirmed the negative effect of high doses of caffeine ingested during pregnancy both for the mother and the developing foetus. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between caffeine's toxicity on development and the administered solution's temperature. Materials and methods: The research was conducted on rats. The fertilised females were randomly divided into two main groups: an experimental (E) and a control group (C). The experimental groups received caffeine (30 mg/day) in 10 (E1), 25 (E2) and 45 degrees C (E3). The females in the control group were given water at the same temperature (C-1, C-2 and C-3). On the 21st day of pregnancy, the pregnant females were killed by decapitation using a specially prepared laboratory guillotine and were assessed morphometric parameters of foetuses. Results and Conclusions: Based on this work showed that: the embryotoxic effect of caffeine was only confined to a reduction in the number of offspring; the greatest changes in the morphometric parameters occurred in foetuses whose mothers received caffeine at 10 degrees C; in the control groups, the greatest changes were observed in foetuses whose mothers were given water at 10 degrees C during pregnancy.