Iranian Journal of Toxicology
Volume:9 Issue: 1, Spring 2015

There is unprecedented increase in the processing and packaging of many plant materials into food supplements, herbal medicine, skincare and cosmetic products for human needs. Baphia nitida is used for topical skincare products. Toluene, a toxic aromatic solvent, is increasingly being used in the production of these skincare and cosmetic products in many industries. This study assessed toluene toxicological profile and the ability of Baphia nitida dye to ameliorate toluene induced cytogenotoxicity, hematotoxicity and histopathological effects in rats. Rats were treated with various concentrations; 0, 1000, 2000 and 5000 mg of the aqueous, ethanol and toluene processed B. nitida dye via dermal exposure for acute and sub-lethal toxicity. 96 h acute toxicity was assessed for the solvents. Micronuclei induction, alterations in hematological indices and erythrocyte morphology and skin histology were assessed after sub-lethal treatment. 96 h LD50 of B. nitida processed dye for the three solvents were indeterminate. There was insignificant (p>0.05) alterations in the hematological indices and erythrocyte morphology, induction of micronucleated polychromatic erythrocyte and polychromatic and normochromatic erythrocyte ratio in the aqueous and ethanol processed B. nitida treated rats compared to their corresponding controls. Toluene induced significant (p<0.05) decrease in erythrocytes count, hematocrit and leucocytes, increased micronucleated PCE, decreased PCE/NCE ratio and induced necrosis, thick dermal layer and dispersed areolar tissues in treated rats. But, these effects were ameliorated by the B. nitida dye. Camwood dye protects against toluene induced toxicity in rats. This suggests its relative safety in topical cosmetic and skincare production.

Heavy metals contaminated environment constitutes a serious problem for human and other organisms. Moreover, metals such as Cd, Pb, and Cr are toxic metals. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluation of Cd, Pb, and Cr in the muscle of cow, calf, and sheep slaughtered in Sanandaj city from Iran. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study in Sanandaj city in November 2014. A total number of 40 individual animals belonging to cow, calf, and sheep were analyzed for Cd, Pb, and Cr concentrations in the muscle samples. Heavy metals were assayed by using a graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The results of present study indicated that the mean concentrations of Pb in the muscle of cow, calf, and sheep were 15.1, 13.1, and 9.9 mg/kg. However, the Cd concentrations in the muscle of cow, calf, and sheep were 12.7, 1.8, and 2.8 mg/kg. The results of this study showed that the highest Cd and Pb concentrations were detected in the muscle samples of cow. The metal concentration in the muscle samples was generally lower than the maximum acceptable concentration in European Commission.

There is much evidence indicating that natural substances from edible and medicinal plants possess powerful antioxidant and hepatoprotective activities. The objective of the present study was to investigate the potential hepatoprotective effect of silymarin in fish exposed to malathion. Zebra cichlid fish were allocated into five groups of which one group received normal feed and served as control. Fish from group 2 were treated with 0.1 mg.L-1 malathion. Fish from group 3 and 4 were fed with enriched diet with 1400 mg and 2100 mg silymarin per 1 kg feed, respectively. While fish from group 5 and 6 were fed with enriched diet with 1400 mg and 2100 mg silymarin per 1 kg feed, respectively and simultaneously were treated with 0.1 mg.L-1 malathion for 15 days. Activities of hepatic enzymes including alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase and lactate dehydrogenase were evaluated. Oxidative stress was ascertained by measuring malondialdehyde as marker of lipid peroxidation and total cellular antioxidant capacity. Exposure to malathion caused a significant increase in MDA levels and altered AST, ALT, ALP and LDH activities in liver tissues (p<0.05). The hepatic antioxidant capacity was significantly lowered in malathion treated fish as compared to the control group (p<0.05). Treatment with silymarin significantly ameliorated these changes in the malathion-treated groups. These finding demonstrated that silymarin have protective effects against the toxic influence of malathion on the examined biochemical parameters in liver tissue of fish.

The presence of lead in natural waters has become an important issue around the world. Lead has been identified as a highly toxic metal that can cause severe environmental and public health problems and its decontamination is of utmost importance. The aim of this work was to evaluate the adsorption of lead (Pb(II)) on waste tea leaves as a cheap purification method. In this experimental study, prepared waste tea leaves were used as adsorbent for the removal of Pb(II) from aqueous solutions. Adsorption experiments were carried out as batch studies at different contact time, pH, amount of adsorbent, initial metal concentration and temperature. The results showed that maximum removal efficiency was observed at pH 6. Also the adsorption of Pb(II) ions increased with decreasing initial metal concentration. The Langmuir isotherm model fits well with the equilibrium adsorption isotherm data and its calculated maximum monolayer adsorption capacity was 166.6 mg g-1 at a temperature of 25±0.1˚C. The kinetic data obtained have been analyzed using pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order models. The best fitted kinetic model was found to be pseudo-second-order. The results suggest that tea wastes could be employed as cheap material for the removal of lead from aqueous solutions.

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the development of sub-lethal earthworm biomarkers as they are relevant indicators of environmental change and they are among the five key indicators for ecotoxicological testing of industrial chemicals determined by the OECD. In the present study, the effects of an organophosphate pesticide dichlorovos on lysosomes of coelomocytes of earthworm E. foetida are studied using Neutral Red Retention Assay (NRRA). Earthworms were exposed to three sub-lethal concentrations of the pesticide for 7, 14, 21, and 28 days and neutral red retention assay was done following the method employed by Weeks and Sevendsen and Booth et al. It was observed that the pesticide significantly affected the coelomocyte viability within 28 days of exposure. The neutral red retention time of lysosomal membrane significantly decreased at all concentrations when compared with well-matched controls. After the analysis of results, it was concluded that the neutral red retention time assay in earthworms can be used to link changes in the permeability of lysosomal membranes to ecologically relevant life cycle effects caused by such toxic substances.

Royal jelly has been shown to have antioxidant and antidiabetic effects. The objective of this study was to evaluate the protective effect of RJ against kidney damage in streptozotocin induced diabetic rats. Thirty two male Wistar rats were divided randomly into four groups (n=8 per group). Normal control and diabetic control groups received 1cc/day distilled water, normal RJ-treated and diabetic RJ-treated groups received 100mg RJ/kg body weight daily. Diabetes was induced by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin. At the end of the experiment, urine and kidney samples were collected for biochemical and histopathological analysis. The results showed that diabetes could increase levels of urine urea, total protein and albumin significantly, and could decrease the levels of creatinine and uric acid in urine. In the kidney tissue homogenates, catalase activity and antioxidant power were significantly lower, whereas malondialdehyde levels were significantly higher in diabetic group when compared with control group. Diabetic rats showed severe histological changes in kidney tissues. Treatment of diabetic rats with RJ improved significantly all of these parameters. The present study revealed that treatment with RJ resulted in significant improvement in histopathological alterations in kidney tissue and urine parameters of diabetic rats. This could be due to its antioxidant activity and the ability of RJ for scavenging the free radicals released in diabetes. These findings suggest that RJ has protective effects on kidneys affected by diabetes mellitus.

This study aimed to evaluate the pollution levels of surface water with heavy metals including Pb, Cd and Cr in Gheshlagh River, western Iran. Water and sediment were sampled in five monitoring stations with three replicates in time along the river. The concentration of Cr, Pb and Cd in both water and sediment samples were measured with graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometer (Australia, Varian 220). The Geoaccumulation Index and Pollution Load Index were employed to assess the pollution level of sediments with heavy metals. The mean value of Cd, Cr, Pb in sediment samples were 0.69, 17.19 and 10.69 µgg-1 per dry weight, respectively. Water samples contained Cd, Cr and Pb concentration of 1.99, 1.45 and 12.92 µgL-1, respectively. The Geoaccumulation Index and Pollution Load Index indicates that the sediments were not polluted with Pb and Cr, and unpolluted to moderately contaminated with Cd in Gheshlagh River. This study concludes that the Gheshlagh River is threatened by heavy metals particularly Cd and Pb.

The presence of pesticides is very prevalent in surface waters of Iran due to their huge consumption for agricultural purpose. These toxic substances may accumulate in the food chain and cause serious ecological and health problems. Chemical pesticides with persistent molecules (long half-life periods) pose a threat to aquatic life forms and the human population consuming the affected fish. Fish samples were exposed to different concentrations of oxadiazon 25% (0, 2, 4, 8, 16 and 32 ppm), deltamethrin 2.5% (0, 0.02, 0.05, 0.10, 0.20, and 0.30 ppm), and malathion 57% (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 30 ppm) within a 120 L capacity glass aquaria for 96 h. Their cumulative mortality of platy fish was calculated with a 24-hour interval. LC50-96h was 7.59±0.42, 0.11±0.46, and 12.05±0.75 for oxadiazon, deltamethrin, and malathion, respectively. The very low LC50 obtained for oxadiazon (7.59±0.42 ppm), deltamethrin (0.11±0.46 ppm), and malathion (12.05±0.75 ppm) indicates that oxadiazon, deltamethrin and malathion are highly toxic to platy fish. The results of this study demonstrate that deltamethrin and malathion had the lowest and highest rate of mortality on the platy fish, respectively.

Contamination of the environment due to heavy metals is a major concern to human life and the environment. This study was conducted to investigate and quantify the copper and zinc concentrations in industrial estates soil in Arak, Iran. Four industrial estates were considered for the experimental design, including Arak 1, Arak 2, Arak 3, and Ghotbe Sanaati. For preliminary understanding of soil heavy metals pollution in industrial estates, the concentrations of zinc and copper in the soil are analyzed and investigated to evaluate their concentration and environmental quality based on the contamination factor. The results indicated the soils had been polluted by heavy metals due to industrial processes that concentrate these metals in the soil. Copper concentrations varied from 15.69 to 49.55 mg/kg. Zinc concentrations were found to be between 23.02 and 144.17 mg/kg. The highest concentration of Zn was found in Arak 3 region which may be due to industrial activities while the highest concentration of Cu was observed in the soil of Arak 1 region that may be due to proximity of this industrial estate to Arak city. The findings of the contamination factor showed that the heavy metals are accumulated in the soil of industrial estates that are considered low risk for contamination with zinc and copper. The achievements of this research showed the location of the industrial estate, proximity to highways and main roads, and the area of green space of industrial estates are important factors in determining heavy metals concentration.

Acrylamide (C3H5NO) is a vinyl monomer. This water-soluble crystalline solid is a colorless, odorless agent which is used in scientific laboratories and some industries. Acrylamide has cellular oxidative effects. Acute or chronic poisoning with this agent happens as a result of skin, respiratory, or oral contacts. Clinical manifestations depend on the dose, duration, and frequency of contact. Management of these patients consists of conservative and palliative therapies to reduce the oxidative effects. Case: The case was a 29-year-old girl with a Master of Sciences degree in genetics who worked in a university research center with previous history of depression. She had ingested 100cc of 30% Acrylamide solution for intentional suicide attempt. The patient was successfully managed using N-acetyl cysteine, vitamin C, and melatonin. Early diagnosis and appropriate treatment with recommended agents together with supportive therapies can save the life of patients exposed to potentially lethal doses of acrylamide, although intentional or accidental.