Effects of Saint John’s wort on the fetus in pregnant rats

Introduction: Because of the toxic and teratologic side effects that might develop into the fetus, the number of drugs that can be used in the treatment of depression seen in pregnancy is very limited. In this study, we investigated whether the Saint John’s wort used during pregnancy has side effects on the liver of fetus.Methods: Thirteen Wistar albino female rats were used in this study. The animals divided into two groups as 8 rats for the experimental group and 5 rats for the control group. The animals detected for pregnancy in the experimental group were fed with the Saint John’s wort extract as 100 mg/kg/day through orogastric probe from the first day of the pregnancy. The animals in the control group were fed with 2 ml distiled water through an orogastric probe every day begining from the first day of the pregnancy. The newborn pups were taken. Their liver tissues were harvested and investigated after the tissue processing and staining procedure.Results: Microvesicular lipidosis and hydropic degeneration were observed in histopathological evaluation of the harvested tissues of experimental group. Conclusion: As a result, there is not enough data in the literature in order to claim that Saint John’s worth is reliable for the pregnant women or fetus. It is important for the physician to evaluate the complaints related to the use of pregnancy and to raise the awareness of the physicians in the first stage of the pregnancy follow-up. For the usage of this herb as an alternative or addition to antidepressive drugs more preclinical (basic) and clinical studies need to be performed. Giriş: Fetüste gelişebilecek toksik ve teratolojik yan etkilerinden dolayı, gebelikte görülen depresyonun tedavisinde kullanılabilecek ilaç sayısı oldukça sınırlıdır. Çalışmamızda, gebelik sırasında depresyon tedavisi için halk arasında sık kullanılan kantaron otunun fetüs karaciğeri üzerine yan etkilerini araştırdık. Yöntem: Çalışmada kullanılan 13 adet dişi Wistar albino sıçan, 8 adet deney grubu, 5 adet de kontrol grubu olmak üzere ayrıldı. Gebe kalmaları sağlanan deney grubundaki hayvanlara, gebeliğin ilk gününden itibaren, gebelik süresince 100 mg/kg/gün kantaron otu ekstresi orogastrik sonda yardımıyla verildi. Kontrol grubundaki sıçanlara ise gebeliğin ilk gününden itibaren her gün 2 ml distile su orogastrik sonda yardımıyla verildi. Doğan yavruların karaciğer dokuları çıkarıldı, %10 nötral formalin ile fiksasyonu yapıldı, alkol takibinden sonra parafin blokları hazırl