Lack of maternal and developmental toxicity in mice given high doses of aluminium hydroxide and ascorbic acid during gestation.

The present study was conducted to assess if the concurrent ingestion of high doses of aluminium hydroxide and ascorbic acid might result in maternal and developmental toxicity in mice. Three groups of pregnant Swiss mice were given by gavage daily doses of aluminium hydroxide (300 mg/kg), ascorbic acid (85 mg/kg), or aluminium hydroxide (300 mg/kg) concurrent with ascorbic acid 85 (mg/kg) on gestational days 6-15. A fourth group of animals received distilled water and served as control group. Dams were killed on gestation day 18 and foetuses were examined for external, internal, and skeletal abnormalities. The reproductive data did not show embryotoxic or foetotoxic effects in any group. No gross, internal, or skeletal malformations or variations related to the different treatments were found. There were no significant differences between control and treated groups on the aluminium levels in maternal liver and bone as well as in whole body foetuses, whereas aluminium concentrations were significantly higher in placenta and kidney of dams receiving aluminium hydroxide and aluminium hydroxide plus ascorbic acid than in those from the control group. Although in this study aluminium hydroxide was given at doses higher than those usually consumed by pregnant women, no signs of maternal or developmental toxicity were observed when the compound was given alone or concurrently with high doses of ascorbic acid.