Abstract
Spirulina maxima, provided by Sosa Texcoco Company (México City), was administered to mice of both sexes in a fertility study, at concentrations of 0, 10, 20 and 30% incorporated into the diet. Males were fed for nine weeks while females, for two weeks, and feeding continued during the mating period and gestation. On the other hand, in a peri- and postnatal study, the alga was given only to females at the same concentrations from day 15 of gestation until day 21 post-partum. Treatments were not associated with any adverse effect on reproductive performance, pregnancy rate, number of corpora lutea, resorptions or number of live or dead fetuses. There was no increase in the number of abnormal pups at caesarean section. Length of gestation, parturition status, and litter values were unaffected by treatment. However, there was a statistically significant reduction in bodyweight and survival rate on postnatal days 0–4 at the high dose group in the peri- and postnatal study. The reproductive performance of F1 generation was normal in all groups. We conclude that S. maxima is not toxic to reproduction.
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Chamorro, G., Salazar, S., Favila-Castillo, L. et al. Reproductive and peri- and postnatal evaluation of Spirulina maxima in mice. Journal of Applied Phycology 9, 107–112 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007994500084
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007994500084