ABSTRACT
The adverse outcomes of developmental toxicology include embryonic/fetal death, structural abnormalities, growth retardation, and functional defects. Early pregnancy loss is one of the more common adverse outcomes. It has been suggested that as many as 50% of human conceptuses are lost before implantation, and another 15 to 20% may be lost prior to delivery (1). Estimates have also suggested that the cause of approximately 65 to 70% of structural abnormalities cannot be determined (2), and after years of investigation, this estimate remains virtually unchanged. It is believed that many of these abnormalities are the result of interactions between the genetic constitution of an individual and various environmental factors. Nutrition is one of the environmental factors that may play a role in a variety of developmental toxicology outcomes.
