Lack of effects for dietary exposure of bisphenol A during in utero and lactational periods on reproductive development in rat offspring

Abstract

The potential for health effects on humans with exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) has raised concerns, and the adverse effects of low-dose exposure to BPA on reproduction have been controversial. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of low-dose exposure to BPA on reproductive development in F₁ rat offspring. Pregnant female Sprague-Dawley rats (F₀) were fed a diet containing low doses of BPA (0, 0.33, 3.3, or 33 ppm) from gestational day (GD) 6 through postnatal day (PND) 21. The weanlings (F₁) from all dose groups were fed a normal diet ad libitum after weaning and then were subjected to necropsy at 5 weeks or 3 months of age. No BPA-related changes were observed in body weight or weight of any of the major reproductive organs in F₁ males and females. Epididymis weight was significantly lower only in 3-month-old F₁ males exposed to 33 ppm BPA. Anogenital distance (AGD), the ratio of AGD to the cube root of body weight, and relative ovary weight were significantly lower in 5-week-old F₁ females exposed to 3.3 and 33 ppm BPA, but significant differences were not observed in 3-month-old females. There were no BPA-related effects on cauda epididymal sperm motility in 3-month-old F₁ males. Plasma reproductive steroid hormone concentrations were not altered among groups in either sex. These outcomes indicate that low-dose exposure to BPA in the diet does not adversely affect reproductive development in F₁ rat offspring.