الفهرس 
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Abstract
Stomach of rat is the most dilated portion of the alimentary canal and is situated in the left part of the abdominal cavity, at the level of the last thoracic and first lumbar vertebrae, dorsally to the liver and it is directed transversally. The stomach has a very marked fundus (fundus ventriculi), which forms a distinct craniodorsal blind ventricular sac (saccus cecus ventriculi) on the left side, near the cardiac part.
Humans are continuously exposed to acrylamide which is the toxic agent through the diet such as potato chips (potato crisps), french fries (chips), and bread that had been heated higher than 120 °C (248 °F), toasts, cookies, breakfast cereals, coffee, black olives, dried plums, dried pears and peanuts , beginning with in utero exposure, since acrylamide can cross the placenta. The exposure continues through breast-feeding. quercetin is a flavanoid which has been proved to be a strong antioxidant.
The present work aimed to study the effect of gestational and lactational exposure to acrylamide on the development of fundic mucosa in albino rat and the possible protective role of quercetin.
Albino rats had been used in this study. The animals were maintained under controlled conditions (12h:12 h dark/light cycle, normal room temperature and normal humidity) at the animal house.
The pregnant rats were randomly assigned into four equal groups (6 rats in each group):
• group 1: (Control groups): divided into two subgroups:
C) They were kept without any treatment.
D) positive control group: they received distilled water orally (2cm per day) from day 6 of gestation until parturition and during lactation (up to the 21st day).
• group 2: (Acrylamide treated group): they received acrylamide orally from day 6 of gestation until parturition and during lactation (up to the 21st day) in a daily dose of 30 mg/kg of body weight by gastric intubation (Gold et al., 2004).
• group 3: (Quercetin and acrylamide treated group): they received quercetin freshly dissolved in distilled water in a daily dose 50 mg/kg of body weight by gastric intubation 2 hours before the administration of acrylamide at the same dose of the previous group from day 6 of gestation until parturition and during lactation (up to the 21st day) (Flora et al., 2011).
• group 4: (Quercetin treated group): they received quercetin freshly dissolved in distilled water orally at the same dose and duration as in the previous group.
The offsprings in each group were scarified at the following ages: Newborn, 14 days, 21days and three months.
The fundic mucosa was studied by the light microscope, scanning and transmission electron microscope.
In addition, morphometric methods were used which include measurement of mean thickness (height) of the gastric mucosa and area percentage of PAS positive reaction.
The present results demonstrate that the mucosal cells of the fundic mucosa in the acrylamide treated offsprings in the all studied age groups had degenerative changes. Light microscopic study in the all studied age groups showed the presence of many cells with darkly stained nuclei and vacuolated cytoplasm. In addition there were some cells with pyknotic nuclei. The scanning electron microscopic study in adult offsprings showed exfoliation of the surface cells, some cells appeared shrunken and others appeared swollen The ultrastructure of the cells in adult offsprings revealed condensation of chromatin of the nuclei and the cytoplasm showed apparent decrease in free ribosomes, the presence of dilated rough endoplasmic reticulum and damaged mitochondria. Also many vacuoles could be observed in the cytoplasm.
In the acrylamide and quercetin treated group there was improvement as compared to acrylamide treated group the light microscopic study of the all studied age groups, revealed the presence of some cells with vacuolated cytoplasm and darkly stained nuclei. The scanning electron microscopic study of adult offsprings showed increased mucus secretion masking the gastric pits in many areas few shrunken cells and few swollen cells The ultrastructure of the cells of the adult offsprings in this group revealed the presence of few lysosomes, vacuoles and the presence of some dilated rough endoplasmic reticulum.
In the quercetin treated group of the all studied age groups, cells were observed to be nearly similar to those of the control group.