Effect of Prenatal Exposure of Clobazam on Anxiety Parameters in Rat Offspring

Behavioural teratological effects of prenatal clobazam exposure were investigated on anxiety parameters in rats. Pregnant rats were administered clobazam (0.5, 1, 2 and 5 mg/kg/day) orally once a day during the gestation days 13 to 20. The pups born were subjected to open-field exploratory behaviour, elevated plus maze and elevated zero maze tests at 8 weeks of age. The results indicated that prenatal clobazam treatment (0.5, 1, 2 and 5 mg/kg/day) induced significant increase in open-field ambulation, rearings and self-grooming in rat offspring. Rat offspring treated with different doses of clobazam during the prenatal period displayed dose dependent significant increase in anxiogenic behaviour patterns on elevated plus maze and elevated zero maze in comparison to control rat offspring. The findings highlight that prenatal clobazam treatment induced persistent behavioural alterations on anxiety parameters in the rat offspring.