The animals were housed in stainless steel cages in an air-conditioned room with temperature maintained at 25°C ± 2°C. Rats were allowed with standard chow diet throughout the experiment and water ad-libitum. Totally 30 females Wistar rats and 15 males were categorized into separate cages as in 2:1 ratio for breeding. Once they conceived, females were randomized into six groups of five animals each and treated as below for pre-natal (gestation - 21 days) and post-natal (30 days) period.