Abstract

The aim of the present study was to evaluated the effect of treated female lactating rats with enrofloxacin alone and its interaction with albendazole on the occurrence of developmental and neurobehavioral toxicity in suckling pups by using percentage of survival of pups to weaning as well as neurobehavioral test (surface righting reflex). The exposure of suckling pups to enrofloxacin alone through the milk caused sever toxic effects manifested by significant decrease in percentage of survival in pups to weaning to (0%) as result from death all pups from dams were treated with enrofloxacin at high dose (480 mg/kg, i.m.) during the first 5 days of lactation. Whereas, treated lactating female rats with albendazole at (300 mg/kg, orally), 1 hour before enrofloxacin (480 mg/kg, i.m.) during the first 5 days of lactation protected suckling pups from developmental toxic effects of enrofloxacin which mainly appeared as a significant increase in percentage of survival of pups to 100% as result from survival all suckling pups to weaning, accompanied by preventing the neurobehavioral toxicity of enrofloxacin in suckling pups manifested by highly significant decreased response time to surface righting reflex to (2.64 ± 0.57) minuets in the postnatal day 3 in compared with pups from dams that treated with enrofloxacin alone which reached to (15.82 ± 0.27) minuets. In conclusion, our results suggest that pretreatment of female lactating rats with albendazole protecte suckling pups from developme-ntal and neurobehavioral toxicity of enrofloxacin.