Fetal alcohol syndrome-induced oxidative stress and antioxidant mechanism

Abstract

Alcohol is a toxin that can generate damage on many organs and tissues (especially brain and liver) depending on the dose and duration of use. The alcohol consumed by the mother during the prenatal period may cause fetal alcohol syndrome. Fetal alcohol syndrome was first identified in the beginning of 1970s by observing developmental defects, facial abnormalities and mental retardation in the babies of mothers who continued their alcohol habit during pregnancy. Consumption of alcohol may cause miscarriage at the first trimester of pregnancy, damage the organs during organogenesis and starting with the secondary trimester, it may strike the central nervous system with the fetotoxic effect in the cells. In this review, we present information about prenatal alcohol consumption-induced oxidative stress and antioxidant defense mechanism