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

• Main Authors: Mehmet Yuncu, Serap Inaloz Demir, Basak Buyuk, Ayhan Eralp
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: SERNEV 2018-08-01
• Series: Family Practice and Palliative Care
• Subjects: saint john’s wort; fetus; liver; kantaron otu; fetüs; karaciğer
• Online Access: https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/fppc/issue/39137/406844
• ISSN: 2458-8865; 2459-1505

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.