Abstract
Dehydroevodiamine-HCl (DHED), which is a component separated from Evodia rutaecarpa Bentham, has novel anticholinesterase and antiamnesic activities in a scopolamine-induced amnesia model. Several studies suggest that DHED might be an effective drug for Alzheimer's disease and a vascular type of dementia. DHED was at dose levels of 0, 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg/day administered intraperitoneally to Sprague-Dawley male rats for 60 days before mating and to females from 14 days before mating to 7 days after mating. Effects of the DHED on general symptom and reproductive performance of parent animals and embryonic development were examined. In male parents, whereas no death was observed, reduction in the increase rate of body weight was found at 200 mg/kg. In female parents, both of the mating performance and the fertility of parent animals were decreased at 200 mg/kg, but not significantly. In 200 mg/kg treated group, the fetal death rate was increased but total fetuses showed no changes compared to the control group. There were no malformed F1 fetuses in all groups.