Fig. 1
Effects of different concentrations of melatonin on offspring development and growth in mice. a The average litter sizes for 10−2, 10−3, 10−4 and 10−5 M melatonin-treated groups and the control group (10.97 ± 1.453, 12.00 ± 0.92, 12.9 ± 0.40 and 12.2 ± 1.01 vs. 11.5 ± 0.43, respectively). b The survival rates of pups at weaning in the melatonin (10−4 M) and control group (95.6 ± 1.78% vs. control 92.9 ± 2.62%, respectively; P˃0.05). c The average litter weight at birth in the melatonin (10−4 M) and control group (23.24 ± 0.65 vs. control 20.95 ± 0.72, respectively; P < 0.05). d The birth weight and 3rd week weaning weight per pup in the melatonin treated group (10−4 M) and the control group (1.8 ± 0.20 g vs. control 1.8 ± 0.17 g; 11.5 ± 0.43 g vs. control 12.0 ± 0.41 g, respectively; P>0.05). Data are expressed as the means ± SEM (N = 10 litters/group). Different superscript letters indicate statistically significant differences (P < 0.05)