ABSTRACT.
The study assessed the effect of chronic low-level exposure to manganese on the course and outcomes of pregnancy. To achieve this goal, female rats in the pre- and gestational period received a basic diet with the
addition of manganese sulfate at a dose of 1433 mg/kg. It was found that female rats of the experimental group had a
lower fertility index (by 20%) and pregnancy index (below 11.5%) compared to the control group against the background of manganese exposure. The delivery dates in the experiment were recorded earlier by 1.6 days (p≤0.05) relative
to the control; the body weight of newborns and their size were significantly less than the control values by 20%
(p<0.05); there was a lag in the physical development of the offspring – 2.5 days later, eye opening occurred (p<0.05),
the weight of rats at the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 7th and 8th weeks of postnatal development was significantly it was below the
control values on 19%, 24%, 37%, 29%, 35% and 39%, respectively. Thus, in the course of experimental work, it was
found that exposure to manganese in the pre- and gestational periods has negative effects on the indicators of generative
function of animals and negatively affects the physical development of offspring.
KEYWORDS: manganese, physiological pregnancy, physical development, trace elements