ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Cell Dev. Biol.
Sec. Embryonic Development
Prenatal alcohol exposure induces anxiety and depressive-like behaviors with deficits in growth and food intake in mice
Kamal Smimih 1
Bilal El-Mansoury 2
Mohamed Marghich 2
Chaima Azzouhri 3
Nadia Zouhairi 1
Mustapha Agnaou 4
Morad Guennouni 5
Naima Fdil 6
Bitar Abdelali 2
Mahmoud M. Abulmeaty 7
Dara Assad Aldisi 7
Oudat Qutaibah 8
Mourad A. M. Aboul-Soud 7
Mohamed Merzouki 1
Omar El Hiba 2
1. Universite Sultan Moulay Slimane Faculte des Sciences et Techniques, Beni-Mellal, Morocco
2. Faculty of Sciences, Chouaïb Doukkali University, El Jadida, Morocco
3. Universite Mohammed VI Polytechnique Faculty of Medical Sciences, Ben Guerir, Morocco
4. Universite Ibn Zohr Faculte des Sciences Agadir, Agadir, Morocco
5. Universite Chouaib Doukkali, El Jadida, Morocco
6. Universite Cadi Ayyad, Marrakesh, Morocco
7. King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
8. California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, United States
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Abstract
Background/Objectives: Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) has been recognized as a significant public health concern due to its consequential and long-lasting effects on the central nervous system (CNS) and the subsequent behavioral impairments in affected individuals. The current study aims to evaluate postnatal neurobehavioral disturbances, specifically mood state and potential morpho-functional changes, as well as brain oxidative stress in mice prenatally intoxicated with ethanol at the adult stage. Methods: female mice with positive vaginal plugs were divided into three groups: Group 1 (ethanol intoxicated): received ethanol at a dose of 1 g/kg (i.p.) on gestational days 10 and 13 (two injections in total), along with pyrazole (100 mg/kg by i.p.) to inhibit ethanol metabolism and simulate chronic fetal exposure. The second group received pyrazole alone at the same dose (100 mg/kg i.p.). Group 3 (controls): received physiological saline solution (NaCl 0.9%) at the same volume as both ethanol and pyrazole. Offspring pups from the intoxicated dams were subjected, at the adult stage (from postnatal days P95 to P103), to a series of morphometric, biometric, neurobehavioral, and biochemical analyses. Results: Our data show an obvious decrease in body weight and size, decreased food intake, and skeleton deformations. Additionally, PAE mice exacerbated anxiety-like and depressive-like behaviors as well as elevated brain oxidative stress. Conclusions: The current data demonstrate the powerful neurotoxic effect of prenatal ethanol exposure on neuropsychological development as well as the associated morpho-functional changes.
Summary
Keywords
Anxiety-like behaviors, Brain oxidative stress, Depressive-like behaviors, food intake, Growth impairment, morphometry, neurobehavioral alterations, prenatal alcohol exposure
Received
09 November 2025
Accepted
14 January 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Smimih, El-Mansoury, Marghich, Azzouhri, Zouhairi, Agnaou, Guennouni, Fdil, Abdelali, Abulmeaty, Aldisi, Qutaibah, Aboul-Soud, Merzouki and El Hiba. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Mohamed Marghich; Mourad A. M. Aboul-Soud; Omar El Hiba
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