Interactive effects of nutrition and cannabis upon rat perinatal development

Abstract

In order to examine the effects of cannabinoids, malnutrition, and their possible interaction upon the developing rat fetus, female Wistar rats were exposed to cannabis smoke, placebo smoke, or no smoke while concurrently consuming 1 of 3 diets differing in protein concentration (8%, 24%, 64%). Both the diet and drug treatments were administered 20 days prior to and throughout gestation. Of the 12 variables affected by the low-protein diet, 8 were significantly potentiated when undernutrition was combined with cannabis treatment. Some dependent variables that were not altered either by the low-protein diet or by cannabis inhalation were affected by the combination of treatments. These included a lengthened gestation period, an increase in occurrence of stillbirths and litter destruction, and decreased activity in the rat pups. Cannabis coupled with a standard protein diet resulted in a number of developmental indices being delayed but combining the drug with an enriched protein diet ameliorated these effects. The evidence also suggests that the administration of cannabis both before and during gestation resulted in a degree of tolerance to some aspects of the drug effects.

Effects of Prenatal Exposure to Cannabinoids

“…In animals, cannabinoid compounds can also be administered by inhalation (Charlebois and Fried 1980). However, very little ∆ 9 -THC is absorbed by animals in this way.…”

“…Epidemiological Studies Fried (1980Fried ( , 1982 reported that marijuana use prior to or during pregnancy did not affect birth weight, birth length, or head circumference in children born to marijuana takers when corrected for gestation length. In these studies, pregnant women were divided into irregular users (less than one marijuana cigarette per week), moderate users (two to five marijuana cigarettes per week), and heavy users (more than five marijuana cigarettes per week).…”

The Consequences of Marijuana Use During Pregnancy: A Review of the Human Literature

“…One of the primary differences between the two Greenland studies was the generally higher standard of living and health among the sample in the later (1983) report with these subjects being quite similar, demographically, to the OPPS sample. A study that manipulated non-marijuana factors and that utilized pregnant rats (Charlebois and Fried 1980) indirectly supports the critical role that life-style factors may have in interacting with the teratogenic effects of the drug. Briefly, different groups of pregnant rats were exposed to marijuana smoke while receiving diets varying in protein content.…”

Conceptual issues in behavioral teratology and their application in determining long‐term sequelae of prenatal marihuana exposure

“…The interaction of prenatal drug exposure and environmental factors was dramatically shown in a study with marihuana being the drug of focus. Pregnant rats were exposed to marihuana smoke while their diet was manipulated (Charlebois & Fried, 1980). The drug effects were, on the one hand, greatly potentiated when such exposure was combined with poor maternal nutrition and, on the other hand, attenuated when combined with enriched nutrition.…”