Effects of folinic acid and Vitamin B12 on ethanol-induced developmental toxicity in mouse

The objective of this study was to assess whether combined supplementation of folinic acid (FA) and Vitamin B12 (VB12) could suppress ethanol-induced developmental toxicity better than FA alone in mouse embryos cultured in vitro. In this study, exposure to 4.0 mg/ml ethanol for 48 h yielded growth retardation and various malformations of the embryos. FA (10−5, 10−4 mol/l) or VB12 (10−6, 10−5 mol/l) alone supplementation improved the growth parameters moderately, however combined supplementation of the two vitamins (10−5 mol/l FA plus 10−6 mol/l VB12, 10−5 mol/l FA plus 10−5 mol/l VB12, 10−4 mol/l FA plus 10−6 mol/l VB12 and 10−4 mol/l FA plus 10−5 mol/l VB12) showed better protective effects, including both the growth and development parameters of the embryos, than either vitamin alone at the same dosage. The present investigation indicated that combined supplementation of folic acid and VB12 might be a better choice than folic acid alone in the prevention of ethanol-induced birth defects.