Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1st Floor, Block E, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong.
Hum Reprod. 2012 Aug;27(8):2448-56. doi: 10.1093/humrep/des180. Epub 2012 May 30.
It is unclear how safe the use of Chinese herbal medicine is during pregnancy and if the herbal medicines do any harm to pregnancy, embryo-fetal development and prenatal and post-natal growth. A large-scale preclinical study was conducted to detect the adverse effects of Chinese herbal medicines during pregnancy.
Twenty of the most commonly used Chinese herbal medicines prescribed for pregnancy were selected and the crude extract was administered to pregnant mice at clinical doses during five different gestational stages, namely post-implantation, gastrulation, organogenesis, maturation and whole gestation periods. Maternal effects on side effects, weight loss, litter reduction, implantation failure and fetal resorption and perinatal effects on growth restriction, developmental delay, congenital malformations and post-natal mortality were determined.
Adverse pregnancy outcomes were commonly observed after maternal exposure to the herbal medicines, particularly during early pregnancy. Major events included maternal and perinatal mortality were recorded. Maternal weight gain, embryo growth and post-natal weight gain were significantly decreased. Fetal resorption and skeletal malformations were significantly increased.
Reproductive toxicity of Chinese herbal medicines commonly used during pregnancy was identified in mice. Caution should be taken in the clinical use of herbal medicines during pregnancy.
目前尚不清楚在怀孕期间使用中草药是否安全，以及这些草药是否会对怀孕、胚胎-胎儿发育以及产前和产后生长造成任何危害。进行了一项大规模的临床前研究，以检测怀孕期间中草药的不良反应。
选择了 20 种最常用于治疗妊娠的中草药，并在妊娠的五个不同阶段（着床后、原肠胚形成、器官发生、成熟和整个妊娠阶段）以临床剂量给怀孕的老鼠服用其粗提取物。确定母体对副作用、体重减轻、产仔减少、着床失败和胎儿吸收的影响，以及围产期对生长受限、发育迟缓、先天畸形和产后死亡率的影响。
在母体接触草药后，通常会观察到不良的妊娠结局，尤其是在怀孕早期。记录了主要事件，包括母体和围产期的死亡。母体体重增加、胚胎生长和产后体重增加显著减少。胎儿吸收和骨骼畸形显著增加。
在小鼠中鉴定出了在怀孕期间常用的中草药的生殖毒性。在怀孕期间使用草药时应谨慎。
