Abstract
Pregnant and non-pregnant rats were given 10 ppm or 50 ppm cadmium for 41 weeks, and levels of calcium and phosphorus in bone and serum were examined.
(1) The concentrations of serum calcium and phosphorus were not affected by cadmium intake in either the multipara or the nullipara group.
(2) The concentration of femur calcium and phosphorus were not affected by cadmium intake in non-pregnant rats, but were decreased in pregnant rats.
(3) The concentration of bone calcium in newborn rats of mothers fed 10 ppm or 50 ppm was normal, but the concentration of phosphorus was decreased, causing the calcium-phosporus ratio to rise.
(4) The concentration of bone cadmium in the 50 ppm group was significantly higher than that in the control and 10 ppm group, with the concentration in multipara three times that in nullipara receiving 50 ppm.
