Ameliorative effect of vitamin E to mouse dams and their pups following exposure of mothers to chlorpyrifos during gestation and lactation periods

Pesticides are omnipresent in environment, water, fruits, and vegetables and are considered as risk factors for human health. Consumers are mainly exposed to pesticides through diet, and the main question to be answered concerns the impact of such exposure on health. In this study, we developed a mouse model to mimic consumer exposure. During gestation and lactation periods, the experimental mouse dams (M) received one of the following treatments: (a) diet-free of pesticides; (b) diet enriched with chlorpyrifos (CPF; 44.0 μg kg−1); c) diet + oral vitamin E (vit. E; α-tocopherol; 200 mg/kg/mouse); and (d) diet enriched with CPF (44.0 μg/kg + oral vit. E (200 mg/kg/mouse). At weaning, pups (P) and dams were killed, and organs as well as blood samples were collected. Compared with control results, CPF induced alteration of measured parameters (e.g. organ weight, alkaline phosphatase, urea, malondialdehyde, superoxide dismutase, and cholinesterase) either in mouse dams or in their offspring. Also, CPF induced histological impairment in kidney, liver, and ovary. Administration of vit. E in conjunction with CPF clearly alleviated deviation of these parameters than those of control ones. In conclusion, a dietary exposure of mice during gestation and lactation to low dose of CPF led to significant changes in the mother but also in the weaned animals that have not been directly exposed to this pesticide. These biological and histological modifications could be reversed by an oral supplementation of vit. E.