Iranian Journal of Toxicology
Volume:12 Issue: 6, Nov-Dec 2018

Lead is one of the heavy metals that is persists in the environment and has destructive effects on various human tissues. We investigated the effects of lead on the histological features of liver and its enzymatic functions. Forty chickens were purchased and randomly divided into four groups. In addition to the normal feed, each group received different doses of lead acetate II in the feed. After preparing microscopic slides, the level of liver enzymes was measured. It was demonstrated that the level of liver enzymes increases and devastating effects on the liver structures occurred. In according to the adverse effects of lead on the liver and due to the increase use of this harmful agent in the different parts and its increase in the air, especially in Iran, there is a need for considering a comprehensive plan for preventing of more outbreak of this agents and inhibiting the toxic effects of it on the birds

Environmental and occupational lead exposures are known to cause an elevated blood pressure but can this concept be applied to missile-related lead exposure? We implemented a controlled, cohort study design to examine study samples with long-standing missiles in craniomaxillofacial region using atomic absorption spectrophotometry and standard sphygmomanometry to measure the blood lead levels and blood pressure respectively. The predictor variable was blood lead levels and the outcome variable were blood pressure. Other variables were age, number of pellets, and duration of retention. Descriptive, bivariate and multivariate statistics were computed and the
P-value was set at 0.05. There was a significant, strong and positive association seen between diastolic blood pressure (r = 0.34;P< 0.001) unlike systolic blood pressure that showed an insignificant, weak and negative associations with blood lead levels(r = - 0.01, P = 0.82). Binary logistic regression showed that blood lead levels, though less significant, (OR= 1.24, P = 0.01, 95%CI = 1.04-1.42) had a higher likelihood to cause hypertension than the age of the patients (OR = 1.03, 95%CI=1.01-1.04, 0.003). The results of this study suggest an association between missiles-related lead exposure and the diastolic blood pressure

This study was conducted to investigate both the genotoxicity effects of M. officinalis aqueous extract on blood cells and the pathologic changes in the renal, cardiac and splenic tissues of Oncorhynchus mykiss. 300 fish (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were divided randomly into three groups (N=100 each), consisting of group, 1 (control), and groups 2 and 3 (experimental), which received 450 mg/kg and 1350 mg/kg of body weight the aqueous extract of M. officinalis, respectively. The fish were fed for 30 days, with the experimental groups given three treatments. Micronuclei test and comet assay were used to identify the histopathological damages, simultaneously. We found significantly more micronuclei (33%) in erythrocytes of group 3 than those in group 2 (5%; p<0.05). Similarly, the results of comet assay were consistent with those obtained for the micronuclei test. The recorded DNA damages to erythrocytes was significantly higher in group 3 (35.75%) compared to that for group 2 (7.15%; p<0.05). The pathologic findings in the spleen, kidneys and heart tissues together with those obtained from the micronuclei test and comet assay confirmed the tissue and DNA damages after exposure to the extract. Abundant and severe cystic and atrophic glomeruli, renal tubular degeneration, hemorrhage and focal lymphocytic inflammation in heart, and increased melanomacrophage centers in the kidneys and spleen were observed at significantly higher frequency in group 3 than those in group 2 (p<0.05). The findings of this study demonstrated that the extract of M. officinalis at doses higher than 450 mg/kg per body weight caused toxic effects with severe tissue and DNA damages in O. mykiss fish

  Vinyl acetate monomer is a commodity chemical widely used in the manufacturing of various products. The chemical is hazardous and exposure to it may occur in both occupational and non-occupational settings. The aim of this study was to characterize the effects of short-term exposure to Vinyl Acetate Monomer (VAM) vapour on the liver and lungs of Wistar rats. Mice weighing 25-30g were used to determine the acute lethal dose, while Wistar rats weighing 120-140g were randomly assigned to a control group and two experimental groups, which were exposed daily to VAM vapour for 2 or 4 hours. On the 5th day, rats were sacrificed, the blood was collected for biochemical analysis while liver and lungs were examined for histological alterations. The acute lethal dose of VAM vapour was estimated to be 173.21 mg/kg body weight. A significant decline in total protein (6.725±0.10 g/dl; p<0.05) and increases in alanine aminotransferase (ALT; 33±1.47 u/l), aspartate aminotransferase (AST; 44±1.08 u/l), alkaline phosphatase (ALP u/l; 76.42±1.43), urea (22.89±0.93 mg/l), bilirubin (0.84±0.03 mg/dl) and creatinine (1.04±0.07 mg/dl) occurred in the experimental rats compared to the controls. Portal inflammation, fibrosis, and hepatitis were observed in the liver, while collapsed air spaces, thickened alveolar walls and haemorrhage were demonstrated in the lungs of the experimental rats. The extent of these lesions increased with rising exposure time to VAM vapour. This study demonstrated that VAM liquid was moderately toxic, while short-term exposure to VAM vapour was injurious to the lungs and liver of Wistar rats

  Pesticide poisoning is very common in Tunisia. Various factors are involved in the analysis of the clinical presentations and the severity of this condition. Major factors are the chemical nature of the pesticides and the quantity entered the body. This is a retrospective study, reporting the pediatric cases that presented to us with signs and symptoms of pesticide poisoning. Fifty cases pesticide poisoning were admitted to the hospital between January 2013 and October 2016. A total of 50 pediatric cases were included in this study with the mean age of 3 years and 4months. The poisoning was accidental in 49 cases and self-inflicted in one, with the mode being oral (N=45), respiratory (N=2) and cutaneous (N=3). The average duration of hospital care for these patients was 2 hours and 30 minutes (range: 30 min-24 hr). The clinical manifestations of poisoning noted were due to muscarinic and nicotinic receptors inhibition. Upon clinical examination, 29 patients had no pesticide in the gastric lavage fluid and urine and demonstrated no abnormal cholinesterase activity. The therapeutic management was mainly symptomatic with antidote medications prescribed (atropine and oxime). All patients had favorable outcomes and no death occurred. This study demonstrated the frequency of pesticide poisoning in a pediatric setting and the importance of early management. Optimal therapeutic approaches were evaluated, demonstrating that prevention still remains the best solution in such cases

Aflatoxins (AF’s) are secondary metabolites produced by certain species of fungi on grains and animal feeds. Because of serious impact of AF’s on health, they should be monitored closely in potentially hazardous foods and feeds. In this study, AF’s in imported animal feeds including cereals, corn gluten and meals (pastes derived from the cotton, colza and sunflower seeds) from several Iranian ports were investigated. To determine AF’s contamination in feeds, the HPLC method coupled with immunoaffinity column clean up and post column derivatization were used. The results showed that 44.2% of samples were positive for AF’s at levels of 0.5 to 103.8μg/Kg. Nine of the positive samples (3.7%) showed total AF’s concentrations (B1, B2, G1 and G2) higher than the limit established by the regulated Iranian standards. The results of the present investigation showed that the level of aflatoxin contamination in these feeds samples was variable. Among the samples, corn was more susceptible to various AF species than other tested substrates

Iron oxide nanoparticles are commonly used for various purposes, such as biomedical, medical, and cosmetic services and research. However, there is a little information about the effects of the nanoparticles on human health. The current investigation was conducted to evaluate the adverse effects of iron oxide nanoparticles (FeNP) on the reproductive organs of mice, such as the testicular tissue and sperm cells. Twenty-eight male NMRI mice were randomly divided in four groups (N=7). The control group received only a regular diet. The experimental groups were administered FeNP in doses of 50, 150 and 300 mg/Kg intraperitoneally (IP), over four days. Epididymal sperm parameters, such as sperm number and motility were assessed by computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA). Stereological analysis was also conducted on the histological sections. The results demonstrated that FeNP (300 mg/Kg/day) caused a significant decrease in the sperm parameters, such as motility, spermatogonia, primary spermatocytes, spermatid, Sertoli, Leydig cells, total length of seminiferous tubules, and testicular interstitial tissue volumes. In summary, FeNP affected several reproductive tissue and cellular parameters at the administered dosage. Further research is required to examine the mechanism of action of FeNP the mice reproductive system

Herbicides are widely used in agriculture to kill a large variety of unwanted weeds. However, the application in water ecosystems may pose harmful impacts on the health of aquatic organisms. We studied the acute toxicity of four major types of herbicides on the survival of adult shrimp, Artemia franciscana (AF). The brine shrimp, AF, was hatched from the commercially encysted dry eggs. The acute toxicity (LC50; 48 hr) of four herbicides, paraquat; 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2,4-DCPA); trifluralin; and glyphosate, was examined by a standard method. We exposed the shrimps to sequentially rising concentrations of each herbicide in triplicate. The mortalities were recorded at 12, 24, 36, and 48 hours after exposure and the LC50 was calculated, using a Probit software. This study demonstrated that the acute toxicity of these herbicides was significantly different in adult shrimp AF. The lethal concentrations (LC50) of Paraquat, 2,4-DCPA, trifluralin and glyphosate against the shrimp were 2.701, 14.475, 0.446 and 17.431 mg/l, respectively. Trifluralin and paraquat caused the highest lethality at lower LC50 concentration compared to the other two herbicides. The results demonstrated that increasing herbicides concentration or duration of exposure raised the mortality rate of AF’s