Iranian Journal of Toxicology
Volume:8 Issue: 4, Winter 2015

Cadmium (Cd) is a heavy metal that has widespread use. It enters the food chain in different ways, including soil and water. Cadmium can cause dysfunction of different body organs. Zinc (Zn) and magnesium (Mg) supplementation can have protective effects against cadmium toxicity due to their antagonistic and antioxidants properties. This study examines the influence of supplemental Zn and Mg on Cd renal toxicity. Young male Wistar rats were divided into six groups of five. The Cd group received 1 mg Cd/kg and the control group received 0.5 mg/kg normal saline (i.p.). The other four groups were administered 1 mg/kg Cd+0.5 mg/kg Zn, 1 mg/kg Cd+1.5 mg/kg Zn, 1 mg/kg Cd+ 0.5 mg/kg Mg, and 1 mg/kg Cd+ 1.5 mg/kg Mg (i.p.) for 21 days. Then, serum sodium, potassium, urea, creatinine, and protein levels were measured. The results indicated that creatinine and proteinlevels decreased while urea, sodium, and potassiumlevels increased as a result of Cd exposure. Co-administered Cd and Zn and Mg decreased urea and increased sodium serum level in comparison to the cadmium group. Treatment by Mg, contrary to co-administered Cd and Zn, reduced serum protein level compared to the cadmium group. Compared to the cadmium treated group, Zn and Mg treatment enhanced serum creatinine level and reduced serum potassium level. The findings seem to suggest that zinc and magnesium compounds,due to their antagonistic and antioxidant activities, can protect Cd renal toxic effectsin a dose-dependent manner.

Aquatic ecosystems are frequently subjected to contamination by toxic heavy metals and pesticides, yet very little is known about the influence of pesticides on bioaccumulation of heavy metals in aquatic organisms. Mercury is a toxic metal with no known biological benefit to organisms. Bioavailability of mercury in aquatic environments depends on biological and non-biological parameters including other pollutants. Therefore, the objectives of this research were to determine the effects of permethrin on bioaccumulation of mercury in zebra cichlid. Acute toxicity (LC50) of permethrin and mercury chloride was evaluated by estimating mortality in Probit Model in SPSS (version 19.0 IBM). In sub-lethal toxicity, zebra cichlid (Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum) was exposed to various concentrations of permethrin (0.0, 0.40, 0.80, 1.20 and 1.60 µg.L-1) combined with 20 µg.L-1 mercury chloride for 15 days.At the end of the experiment, mercury concentrations were measured using ICP-OES-Perkin elmer (optima 7300-DV).96 h LC50 values of permethrin and mercury for C. nigrofasciatum were calculated to be 17.55 µg.L-1 and 140.38 µg.L-1, respectively. Our results clearly showed that the bioaccumulation of mercury in the specimens increased with increasing concentrations of permethrin to 1.20 and 1.60 µg.L-1. Increasing the concentration ofpermethrinhad synergistic effects on the bioaccumulation of mercury in fish.

Analysis of pesticide residues in food and other environmental commodities have become an essential requirement for consumers, producers, food inspectors and authorities. This study is focused on validation of an accurate, rapid and reliable method for multi-residual analysis of pesticides in pistachio as a strategic crop for export and one of the main nuts in Iranian food basket. We developed a "Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe (QuEChERS) method based on spiking blank samples and used the data for drawing calibration curves instead of standard solutions. Sample preparations were developed for determination of 12 pesticide residues in pistachio by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Recovery of pesticides at 5 concentration levels (n=3) was in the range of 81.40% - 93.08 %. The method proved to be repeatable in the majority of samples with relative standard deviation (RSD) of lower than 20%. The limits of detection and quantification for all pesticides were 2 ppb and 10 ppb, respectively. The calibration curves of pesticides were linear in the range of 10-500 (ng/g) and correlation coefficient of entire pesticides was higher than 0.994. The recovery of pesticides at 5 concentration levels (n=3) was in range of 81.41- 91.80 %. The method was proved to be repeatable with the majority of RSDs being lower than 20%. The limits of detection and quantification for all pesticides were 2 and 10 ppb, respectively. The recoveries and repeatabilities were in accordance with the criteria set by SANCO Guideline (Commission of the European Communities, 2006).

The presence of heavy metals in the environment could constitute a hazard to food security and public health. These can be accumulated in aquatic animals such as fish. Canned fish is consumed regularly in many countries. In this study, the levels of heavy metals Cu, Ni, Fe and Cr were evaluated in commercial canned fish products that are commonly consumed in Iran. The canned fish studied were longtail tuna, Kawakawa, Kilka and yellowfin tuna. Samples of four popular brands of canned fish in the Iranian market (yellowfin tuna, common Kilka, Kawakawa and longtail tuna) were analyzed for levels of Cu, Ni, Fe and Cr after wet digestion with acids using graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The mean concentrations for the metals in the different brands were: For Cu: 0.91, 0.73, 1.18 and 0.84 μg g-1 for brands A, B, C and D respectively. For Ni: 0.37, 0.19, 0.14 and 0.18 μg g-1 for brands A, B, C and D respectively; For Fe: 45.9, 34.0, 77.53 and 61.3 μg g-1 for brands A, B, C and D respectively. For Cr: 2.57, 3.24, 3.16 and 1.65 μg g-1 for brands A, B, C and D respectively. Significant differences were observed in the heavy metal levels between all of the different brands of canned fish evaluated in this study. The metal concentrations for the varieties of canned fishes were generally within the FAO/WHO, U.S. FDA and U.S. EPA recommended limits for fish except for Iron for which all different Brands exceeded the limit.

Gossypol is a yellow toxic pigment from the cottonseed that can cause acute or chronic toxicity in humans and animals by affecting the testicular tissues. Nowadays cottonseed is used as food supplement for ruminants specially the sheep. In this study, two different stem cell lines of testicular tissue including GC1-spg (mouse testis) and SFTF-PI43 (sheep testis) cells were used to evaluation of gossypol cytotoxicity. The GC-1spg and the SFTF_PI43 cells were cultured in RPMI-1640 supplemented with fetal bovine serum (10%) and antibiotic (penicillin 105/ml, streptomycin100μg/ml), and then 5×104 cells/well were seeded in 24 well plates. Cultured cells were exposed to four different concentrations of gossypol (1.25, 2.5, 5 and 10μM). After 24 h incubation, cells viability test was performed using Trypan Blue dye exclusion and MTT assay. The Thiobarbituric Acid Reacting Substances (TBARS) and Ferric Reducing Activity Potential (FRAP) assays was performed on media. In high concentrations (over than 2.5μM), Gossypol showed cytotoxic effects on cells. The IC50 for gossypol (using MTT assays) on SFTF-PI43 and GC-1spg cell lines was 2.2 μM and 3.2 μM, respectively. While the results for FRAP assay did not show any significant differences between the test and control groups, significantly higher lipid peroxidation was observed in SFTF-PI43 cells that were treated with higher doses of gossypol (10μM). In this research, we found that gossypol has cytotoxic effects on both examined testicular cell lines and increased lipid peroxidation, which is a probable mechanism of its toxicity on cell lines.

Lead and cadmium are toxic heavy metals found as major contaminants in food products and edible oils. The aims of this study were to investigate the lead and cadmium contaminations in seeds and extracted oils from Brassica napus L and Carthamus tinctorius grown in the vicinity of industrial sites (Isfahan Zobe Ahan) near Isfahan province/Iran. In this study, the seeds of B. napus and C. tinctorius were randomly sampled from the farms. The oils of seeds were provided by factory and extracted as well in our laboratory. The two series of washed and unwashed seeds digested with nitric acid and the amount of elements in seeds and oils were measured using GF-AA spectrometer equipped with Zeeman Effect. Cadmium was found in all samples below the Method Detection Limit (MDL, 0.04 μg/L). Lead contaminations were found in all seeds and oils except washed B. napus seeds. The highest levels of lead contaminations were observed in oils of C. tinctorius and B. napus with the amount of 24.74 μg/L and 11.85 μg/L, respectively. The level of lead in unwashed seed oils were significantly higher than washed seed oils (P<0.05). The contamination rate of cadmium compared with lead was very low. The higher lead contaminations in unwashed seeds oils compared with washed seeds oils indicated that the contaminant should have been be transferred through the air. Although these observations suggest that the levels of contaminations in edible oils are below the toxic level, long-term exposure may lead to potential health risks.

Pesticides are widely used in agriculture. Excessive use of pesticides has health risk for human and threatens non-target organisms. This research aimed to determine lethal concentrations of malathion and Hinosan for Carassius auratus (5±1 gr) [mean ± SD]. Experiments were performed according to O.E.C.D for 4 days (96 h) and concentrations of 0, 1, 2, 4, 8 mg L-1 Hinosan and 0, 1, 2, 4, 16 mg L-1 malathion with three replicates. LC1, LC10, LC30, LC50, LC70, LC90 and LC99 for 24, 48, 72 and 96 h were determined using a probit analysis. The results indicated that the 96 h LC50 value of Hinosan and malathion for Gold fish was 4.02 and 4.71 mg/L, respectively. Fishes exhibited irregular, erratic and darting swimming movements, hyper excitability, bruise in the caudal section, loss of equilibrium and sinking to the bottom. Malathion and Hinosan have medium toxicity for C. auratus and could cause irreversible harm and behavioral changes.

Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless and poisonous gas. Since there is currently no information on the prevalence of carbon monoxide poisoning in Mazandaran, this study aimed to investigate the prevalence of carbon monoxide poisoning and compare its prevalence with other poisonings recorded in Mazandaran Department of Forensic Medicine, from 2009 to 2011. This is a descriptive-analytical study, in which the information was received from Mazandaran Department of Forensic Medicine. Among the 2446 human deaths in 2009, 2010, 2011, 237 deaths were due to poisoning and 27 (11.4%) were due to carbon monoxide poisoning, which ranked third after narcotic and Aluminum phosphide intoxication. Poisoning in males was 1.7 times more than females. Co was the most common cause of deaths among people aged 21 to 30 years. Considering the fact that in most cases of poisoning deaths caused by CO (silent killer) come by quietly and in a hidden manner, CO actually makes any defense and escape impossible for the person and despite seeing the shadow of death, that person will inevitably surrender and will be defeated. Therefore, it is necessary to educate and inform the public through media and educational institutions about the risks and sources of CO poisoning.

Immunotherapy is the only specific treatment for scorpion envenomation. In the present study, the protective effects of polyvalent antivenom against histopathological complications in kidneys and marker changes (BUN and creatinine) induced by Mesobuthus eupeus (Me) scorpion venom was investigated in anesthetized rabbits. Twenty four rabbits were randomized into four groups: six rabbits in control group were received 1 ml distilled water subcutaneously (group 1). In group 2, sublethal dose of Me venom (4 mg/kg) was injected subcutaneously. Simultaneously venom (subcutaneously 1ml of an distilled water solution containing 4 mg/kg of Me venom) and antivenom (intravenously 5 ml) were administered in six rabbits as group 3 animals. In group 4, rabbits received five ml of antivenom, 60 min after Me venom injection. In group 2, venom injection caused histopathological damages such as glomerular congestion, dilated vessels of interstitium and focal interstitial congestion in the kidney. It also increased creatinine and BUN levels 3 h after envenomation. Simultaneous administration of antivenom and venom prevented histopathological damage and marker changes. In group four, Immunotherapy decreased histopathological damages and prevented creatinine and BUN elevation at 3 h. Polyvalent antivenom administration can prevent and neutralize nephrotoxic effects of Mesobuthus eupeus scorpion envenomation, if used at optimum conditions

Phenol and its derivatives like dinitrophenol and pentachlorophenol (carbolic acid) are widely used as insecticides, but they are very toxic substances. Phenol is a general protoplasmic poison with corrosive local effects that denature proteins. Poisoning with phenol compounds may occur by ingestion, inhalation, and absorption through skin. In this report we presented the toxicity effects of Phenol and its derivatives like dinitrophenol and pentachlorophenol on humans. Case report: A 27-year-old married female was found unconscious at her residence in September 2013. She was expired after hospitalization in Lady Hardinge Medical College and its associated hospital on the same day after six hours. On examination, corrosion of skin, at angel of mouth and chin, and brown discoloration in mucosa of the esophagus were seen. Histological examination showed exfoliation of esophageal mucosa and coagulative necrosis of gastric mucosa. In toxicological analyses, carbolic acid was detected. Strict precautionary measures are advised when using this compound.