Title

Sertraline-induced fetotoxicity in mice: Protective effects of vitamin E on foetal growth and organ histology

Authors

Amit Kumar Nayak¹^,*, Deepa Devadas¹, Atul Kumar Singh², Chetan Sahni³, Anand Mishra¹ & Md Jawed Akhtar⁴

Affiliation

¹Department of Anatomy, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India; ²Department of Anaesthesiology, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India; ³Department of Anatomy, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India; ⁴Department of Anatomy, Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, Bihar, India; *Corresponding author

Email

Amit Kumar Nayak - E-mail: amitnayak@bhu.ac.in
Deepa Devadas - E-mail: drdeepadevadas@bhu.ac.in
Atul Kumar Singh - E-mail: atulksingh84@gmail.com
Chetan Sahni - E-mail: csahni5@gmail.com

Anand Mishra - E-mail: dranand5@rediffmail.com
Md Jawed Akhtar - E-mail: drjawed2k@gmail.com

Article Type

Research Article

Date

Received May 1, 2026; Revised May 31, 2026; Accepted May 31, 2026, Published May 31, 2026
 

Abstract

Sertraline, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), is widely used for treating depression and anxiety disorders, including during pregnancy, yet its potential effects on fetal development remain a concern. Oxidative stress is considered a possible mechanism for drug-induced developmental toxicity, suggesting antioxidant supplementation may mitigate such effects. Therefore, it is of interest to assess the fetotoxic potential of sertraline and the protective role of Vitamin E in eighteen pregnant Swiss albino mice divided into control, sertraline-treated (60 mg/kg/day) and sertraline + Vitamin E (100 mg/kg/day) groups. Treatments were given orally from gestational day 6–15, followed by evaluation of fetal growth and organ histopathology on day 19. Sertraline exposure significantly reduced fetal number, weight, crown–rump length and placental metrics, with marked cardiac, hepatic and renal alterations, while Vitamin E co-administration partly ameliorated these effects. Thus, we show oxidative stress in sertraline-induced fetal toxicity and demonstrating the partial protective potential of Vitamin E supplementation.

Keywords

Sertraline; Fetotoxicity; pregnancy; vitamin E; oxidative stress; foetal development; swiss albino mice; histopathology

Citation

Nayak et al. Bioinformation 22(5): 3060-3066 (2026)

Edited by

P Kangueane

ISSN

0973-2063

Publisher

Biomedical Informatics

License

This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. This is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.