Abstract
Two studies were conducted to investigate the placental transfer of fluoride in the guinea pig. Adult female guinea pigs were provided various levels of fluoride ranging from 1 to 50 ppm during gestation and the amount of fluoride retained in the foetus at birth was determined. The results obtained indicate that a significant placental transfer of fluoride occurs in the guinea pig at all levels of fluoride provided during gestation.
The results also indicate that the previous exposure of the mothers to fluoride prior to gestation influences the amount of fluoride transferred to the foetal tissues with the second generation of offspring retaining more fluoride during foetal development than the first generation.
Collectively, these data suggest that the guinea pig may be an acceptable means of evaluating the placental transfer of fluoride in the human although one must exercise considerable caution in translating these findings to the human due to the large amount of species variation which has been shown in previous studies.