Methodological proposal in behavioural teratogenicity testing: assessment of propoxyphene, chlorpromazine, and vitamin A as positive controls.

Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats received either 80 mg/kg d-propoxyphene HCl or 20 mg/kg chlorpromazine HCl or 80,000 and 160,000 IU/kg vitamin A palmitate daily between the 6th and 20th days of gestation. Vehicle control groups were similarly treated with saline or corn oil and considered as negative controls. Offspring were examined for physical landmarks, neuromotor development, and behaviour using righting reflex, swimming, negative geotaxis, open field, rotarod, water maze, and nocturnal activity. This test battery included biochemical measurements. No reduction in parental weight and physical offspring development was observed. All these treatments produced long-term changes in more than one test. Vitamin A palmitate (160,000 IU/kg) was judged as the best positive control with this test battery for future investigation of the behavioural teratology of drugs.