A preliminary report on the toxicity of arecoline on early pregnancy in mice

Areca nut (Areca catechu) is chewed by roughly 10% of the world population, including India, Taiwan and parts of China. Lower mean birth-weight and higher neonatal jaundice were reported in the babies of betel chewing pregnant women in 1982. Although areca nut chewing during pregnancy has been associated with lower birth weight and premature delivery, the mechanism of such complications is not entirely understood. A possible contributor, arecoline, a major alkaloid in the areca nut, has been reported to be cytotoxic and genotoxic. To determine the influence of arecoline on reproduction, we study the effects of arecoline on embryos during peri-implantation stages in mice. Mice consuming varying dosages of arecoline were checked for their ability to successfully produce viable embryos. In addition, trophoblast outgrowth from mice blastocysts was evaluated the survival status of the embryos. Our investigation revealed that arecoline decreased the number of implanted embryos in early pregnant mice. In addition, trophoblast outgrowth expansion of blastocysts was also inhibited by arecoline. These observations suggest that arecoline is toxic to mouse embryos as early as peri-implantation. Improved understanding of the effects of arecoline during embryogenesis may help to establish public health policies and to develop potential treatments for such patients.