Effect of Tilmicosin on Fetal Developments in Pregnant Female Albino Rats

The effect of tilmicosin on fetal development in pregnant female rats was investigated in this study. Forty pregnant female rats were divided into four groups (each of 10 female rats). Rats in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd groups were received tilmicosin at a dose of 20, 100, 200 mg/kg·b·wt/day orally from the 6th to 15th day of gestation respectively, while the 4th group received 0.5 ml distilled water orally for the same period of gestation and was used as control group. All the pregnant female rats were sacrificed on the 20th day of gestation and their fetuses were subjected to morphological, visceral and skeletal examinations. Tilmicosin at a dose 100, 200 mg/kg·b·wt significantly decreased the number of viable fetuses; the number of resorbed fetuses was increased, and induced retardation in growth of viable fetuses; some skeletal and visceral defects in these fetuses were observed and these effects were dose dependant. It could be concluded that tilmicosin caused some abnormalities and fetal defects, so it is recommended to avoid using pregnancy.