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Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats, fed a rapeseed protein diet (containing 0.2 mg glucosinolates/g protein concentrate) from day 0, showed no teratological effects on the 18th day. However, rats which were permitted to deliver, developed anorexia and weight loss after day 18. A reddish discharge, not blood, from the nose stained the fur of most animals fed rapeseed protein. A similar discharge developed in dams fed on lab chow but fasted after day 18. At delivery, dams would neglect the newborn during the first 24 h but would then resume their diet and litter care. Surviving litters of rapeseed-fed animals were comparable to controls in weight after 3 weeks. Vitamin supplementation did not prevent these effects. Force feeding the diet by gavage aggravated these toxic effects and prolonged the gestation period. No toxic effects were seen until day 18 of gestation when the rapeseed protein diet was fed to rats 3–6 weeks before mating. Control rats given glucosinolates by gavage did not show any adverse effects. The rapeseed protein diet had no effect on NMRI mice during pregnancy and on litter care up to 3 weeks.

Epidemiological evidence suggests that millet might play a role in the etiology of endemic goiter. Recently, we showed that a traditional fermentation procedure of two pearl millet (Pennisetum americanum L. Lecke) cultivars grown in Sudan modified their effects on the weight of the thyroid gland and thyroid hormone profile in rats. In the present study, we report that this fermentation procedure reduced the ash contents of millet by about 40% and removed considerable amounts of Mg (>50%), Zn (27–39%) and K (45%). Other minerals (Ca, Fe, Cu) were not affected. Feeding of one fermented cultivar resulted in significant reduction in bone Mg and Zn contents, whereas feeding of the other fermented cultivar resulted in reduction of bone Mg only. Dietary Mg intake and bone Mg contents correlated negatively with serum T₃. Groups fed the millet diets had higher serum Se level compared to those fed wheat or casein diets and feeding of fermented millet resulted in a further increase in serum Se level. Thus our data indicate that in rats the enhanced effects of millet on the thyroid induced by fermentation is likely related to removal of minerals from millet and/or chemical transformation of the goitrogens contained in millet.

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