Revista de Ciencias Médicas de Pinar del Río (May 2018)
Calcium supplementation in pregnant Wistar rats on the anthropometric variables of their offspring
Abstract
Introduction: the effect of calcium supplementation during pregnancy on the anthropometric variables of the offspring is not fully understood. Objective: to verify the effect of calcium supplementation in high doses in Wistar rats before and during pregnancy on the anthropometric variables of offspring. Method: an experimental study was conducted in Wistar rats. Two groups of animals were formed: control (n = 33) and experimental (n = 44), descendants of three mothers each of them. The mothers of the experimental group received orally a maximum dose of calcium carbonate of 10 000 μg three weeks before and during pregnancy. Size, weight, length of the tail and biparietal diameter of the offspring was measured. The quantitative variables were summarized by means and standard deviation. The comparisons were verified by tests of X2, Kruskal Wallis and U of Mann Whitney, with 95% certainty, after checking a non-normal distribution by Kolmogorov-Smirnov. Results: the anthropometric variables studied were independent of sex (p = 0.86). Only the length of the tail presented a superior response in the males (p = 0.01); the pups of the experimental group showed an increase in weight, size and length of the tail (p≤0.001), while the biparietal diameter did not show significant differences in both groups (p = 0.154). Conclusions: supplementation with high doses of calcium in Wistar rats before and during pregnancy provokes an increase in weight, size and length of the tail on the offspring; but not in the biparietal diameter.
