Toxic Effect of Khat in Rat Embryos and Fetuses

Table 3

Embryonic craniofacial development after treatment of pregnant rats with khat: day 12 experiment.

Treatment group	Percent retarded development
	Optic system	Olfactory system	Branchial bars	Maxillary process
Control	0	1.7	4	4
K250	0	3	5	6
K500	5.6^a, b	4.1	7	8
K750	8.2^a,b	10^a,b	10^a,b	10^a,b
Ad libitum control	1.3	1.5	4	4

K250: khat extract 250 mg/kg; K500: khat extract 500 mg/kg; K750: khat extract 250 mg/kg; results are summarized as percentages of retarded development; ^a,bsignificantly different () from ad libitum control and pair-fed control groups; chi-square.