Effects of Sri Lankan Black Tea (Camellia sinensis L) on Pregnancy of Rats

Abstract

The <iim of this study was to demonstrate the potential effects of black tea brew of Camellia sinensis using Sri Lankan high grown dust grade no. I tea on pregnancy outcome of rals when exposed during early (days I -7), mid (days 8-14) and late (days 15-21) pregnancy of rats. Different doses of black tea brew (mg/ml/day) was orally administered daily during this period to separate groups of rats (n = 6/group): 84 {equivalent to 1.5 cups), 167 (3 cups). 501 (9 cups), and 1336 (24 cups). The results showed that black tea brew did not significantly (P > 0.05) change the pregnancy outcome {in terms of quantal pregnancy, number of uterine implants, number of viable implants, implantation index, pre-implantation loss, post-implantation loss, gestation index, number of pups bom, litter index, live birth index and viability index) and pre- (in terms of length of the implants/foetus, gestation length, cranial length, cranial diameter and tail length of pups) and postnatal (in terms of time taken to open eyes, eruption of incisors and appearance of fur) development. Furthermore, black tea brew did not induce gross morphological birth abnormalities. If the results are applicable to women, it is concluded that even heavy consumption of black tea brew during pregnancy may not be harmful for pregnancy outcome