Abstract

Caffeine is the world most popularly consumed legal neurostimulant. It is naturally found in
beverage drinks including coffee and tea. It is also artificially added to several soft and energy
drinks, as well as medicinal drugs including analgesics. Caffeine itself can be employed for
therapeutic purposes. The wide range of caffeine distribution in substances and its popularity in
some cultures makes it almost impossible to regulate its consumption. Several people consume
caffeine from one or more sources, daily and almost inadvertently. Yet, caffeine ingestion during
pregnancy has been reported to have observable effects on female fertility as well as on embryo,
foetal and child health. This investigation was conducted to analyse the effect of different doses of
caffeine on pregnancy and foetus at birth with emphasis on the number of offspring and
morphological parameters. Thirty two (n=32) adult female pregnant mice (Mus musculus) were
divided into four groups- Group A as the Control, Group B was administered the low-dose caffeine
(10mg/kg body weight), Group C was administered the medium-dose caffeine (50 mg/kg body weight) and Group D was administered the high-dose caffeine (120 mg/kg body weight). Anhydrous
caffeine was dissolved in distilled water to achieve the target dosage for each group and animals
were administered caffeine daily throughout the period of pregnancy. At birth, the parameters of
fecundity were examined especially with respect to the average litter number; total sum of litter
weights as well as the average litters’ weights across the experimental animal groups. Caffeine
significantly affected birth weight of the offspring; treated groups had fewer offspring per birth and
lower sum of offspring weights. Caffeine had observable effects on pregnancy and litters in manner
that were negative especially at the higher doses.