Drug Taratogenecity (Enalapril)

In the present study, Enalapril was tested for its teratogenic effects on the developing mice. For this purpose different concentration 0.2, 0.4 and 0.8 µgg B.W. were prepared. These doses were given to the pregnant mice orally on days 6-12 of gestation once in a day. The treated mice were anaesthetized on day 15th of gestation and fetuses were taken out and weighed. The recovered fetuses were fixed in Bouin s fixative and then preserve in 70% alcohol. The morphological analysis showed that developmental defects such as dysplasia of hindlimb, micromelia, webbed shaped manus and pes, club shaped pes, syndactyly, kinky tail, intrauterine growth retardation, lesions on skin, hemorrhagic spots, omphalocele and resorbed fetuses were also observed. Morphometric observation showed a significant (p0.001) decrease in mean fetal body weight, crown-rump length, head and eye circumference, forelimb, hindlimb and tail length of the fetuses as compared to control. These results indicate that Enalapril is dangerous to developing mice fetuses, which may be equally harmful for the human development too. It is quite apparent that Enalapril should not be given to pregnant mothers.