Table 2.
Reproductive Data for Female Mice Treated with Spirulina and Benzo[alpha]pyrene Mated to Untreated Mice
| Dose (mg/kg) | No. of mated females | No. of pregnant females (%) | Total corpora lutea | Total implants | Frequency of preimplant lossesa | Dead implants | Frequency of postimplant lossesb | Protective index (%)c |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Control oil | 20 | 17 (85) | 195 | 170 | 12.8 | 15 | 8.8 | — |
| Control water | 20 | 18 (90) | 225 | 198 | 12.2 | 16 | 8.0 | — |
| B[α]P | 20 | 15 (75) | 165 | 135 | 13.2 | 23 | 16.5††† | — |
| SP800 | 20 | 18 (90) | 218 | 195 | 10.4 | 17 | 8.8 | — |
| B[α]P+SP200 | 20 | 17 (85) | 187 | 166 | 11.3 | 14 | 9.2† | 44.3 |
| B[α]P+SP400 | 20 | 16 (80) | 160 | 150 | 12.5 | 12 | 8.7† | 47.3 |
| B[α]P+SP800 | 20 | 16 (80) | 184 | 162 | 11.8 | 11 | 7.2†† | 56.4 |
a
Frequency of preimplant loss=[(total corpora lutea−total implants)/total corpora lutea]×100.
b
Frequency of postimplant loss=(dead implants/total implants)×100.
c
Protective index (%)=100−[(frequency of postimplant loss SP+B[α]P treated)/frequency of postimplant loss B[α]P treated]×100.
Calculations were based on absolute figures. Those marked with daggers differ significantly from the B[α]P value: †P<.05; ††P<.01; †††P<.001.