Prenatal hypoxia is a common complication in pregnancy. We sought to determine whether resveratrol, a phytoalexin shown to improve health in several species, improves fetal outcomes associated with prenatal hypoxia in rats. Supplementation of maternal diets with resveratrol (4 g/kg diet) from gestational day (GD) 7 to GD21 almost completely reversed fetal demise in hypoxic (8.5% oxygen) pregnancies. We also show that resveratrol crosses the placenta, and may affect the fetus directly.
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