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Solanum lycocarpum St. Hil (Solanaceae) is a native shrub very common in the Brazilian savannah. This plant contains steroidal glycoalkaloids that can be transformed into an intermediate for steroidal drug production. In this way, it is very possible that these glycoalkaloids and its aglycone, once in the body by ingestion of S. lycocarpum fruits, may act by disrupting the endocrine system. Because its fruits may be consumed by pregnant animals in the fields, the present study determined the possible toxic effects of exposure to S. lycocarpum fruit (10% added in the diet) from gestation day (GD) 6 to postnatal day (PND) 07 in rat dams. The unripe fruits contained 0.6% of solamargine and 0.9% of solasonine. S. lycocarpum, 10% in the diet, during gestation and the beginning of lactation reduced intrauterine growth. In addition, 20% of the treated dams showed some dead pups at birth. Reduced body weight was observed from birth through adulthood in male and female offspring exposed to 10% S. lycocarpum unripe fruits. During adulthood, female offspring showed impaired sexual behavior and male offspring showed prominent degeneration of testis germinative cells, characterized by a reduced number of germ cells and vacuolation. Also, the exposed offspring showed reduced hypothalamic norepinephrine (NOR), vanillylmandelic acid (VMA), 3-methoxy-4-hydrophenylglycol (MHPG) and homovanillic acid (HVA) levels, and reduced striatum NOR, HVA, VMA, MHPG, dopamine (DA), dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) and 5-hydroxyindolacetic acid (5-HIAA) levels. These results suggest that the fruit may act as an estrogen, with a long-term effect, impairing the receptive lordosis behavior of female offspring and promoting testis abnormalities in male offspring at adulthood. Finally, it appears to disrupt brain organization since important central monoamine level alterations were also observed.

The effects of prenatal amitraz exposure on physical and behavioral parameters of rats were studied. Pregnant rats were orally gavaged with amitraz (20 mg/Kg) or with distilled water (1.0 ml/Kg) on Days 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, and 19 of pregnancy. After birth, cross-fostering was performed thus generating the following groups: control pups nursed by control dams (CC); control pups nursed by treated dams (CE); treated pups nursed by treated dams (EE) and treated pups nursed by control dams (EC). Results show that compared to pups of Group CC, groups prenatally exposed to amitraz (EC and EE) showed decreased age of vaginal opening. Group EE also showed earlier fur development and a delay in incisor eruption compared to Group CC. The ages of pinna detachment, eye and ear opening, testes descent, and reflex development (surface righting and startle) were not affected by amitraz exposure. Offspring of group CE also showed earlier fur development. Rats of group EE had higher locomotor activity and rearing frequency and shorter immobility time compared to the rats of group CC when observed in an open-field 30 days after birth but not 60 and 90 days. No significant differences were found in open-field behaviors among the CC, CE, and EC groups. The present findings indicate that prenatal exposure to amitraz caused transient developmental and behavioral changes in the exposed rat offspring and suggest that further investigation of the potential health risk of amitraz exposure to developing human offspring may be warranted.