European journal of toxicology and environmental hygiene. Journal europeen de toxicologie最新文献

The authors report the results of a series of toxicological tests conducted on plastic materials (polyethylene) activated with tetraphenylbutadiene (TPB) an additive recently proposed as a sensitizer capable of photodegrading plastic materials. The toxic effects of polyethylene, TPB, and TPB's degradation products were investigated in rabbits, mice and rats. The studies revealed these products to possess a very low toxicity.

The toxicity of lead in the human environment is acquiring a growing interest which lead us to choose a quick, precise, sensitive and specific method able to perform number of measurements. Thanks to the survey consisting in a dosage of lead by atomic-absorption spectrometric, we are able to confirm the advantages and superiority of such a method and to employ it for the toxicologic research of lead in food, water, industrial atmosphere, and biological liquids.

Quails fed methoxy-ethyl-mercury-treated wheat (20 ppm of Hg) during 10 or 20 days, have been submitted to a three-day fasting following contamination. The test proved to be lethal for a number of intoxicated animals but not for controls. Mercury clearance was modified by anorexia; following fasting, there was a redistribution of the metal, with high concentrations in the liver and kidneys. According to the results of a blood survey uric acid, urea and T. G. O. levels appeared to be the most altered parameters. Transient high blood uric acid levels in intoxicated and anorectic animals could be attributed to kidney dysfunctioning. A possible effect of methoxy-ethyl-mercury on neoglycogenesis was discussed.

The different steps of analysis of volatile N-Nitrosamines: separation from product, clean up, detection, quantification and confirmation are reviewed and discussed. The two best analysis procedures are: 1) combined gas-chromatography; mass-spectrometry, 2) combined gas-chromatography; thermal energy analyzer. However a bundle of proofs is always necessary to ascertain the presence of Nitrosamines.

The authors report the underlying principles of the new methodological approach called "relay toxicity" which they proposed eight years ago for the toxicological evaluation of animal feed additives. They stress its value either as a possible criterion of rejection or as a criterion of acceptability. In the latter case, the limiting factor is the difficulty of applying an adequate safety factor when food products destined for human consumption and obtained from animals receiving the additives to be evaluated are administered to laboratory animals. Amongst the examples of the additives which have been subjected to toxicological evaluation using the authors' new method, the following are examined: as growth factor, carbadox, anabolising agents and, in particular, diethylstilboestrol, and steroids used as egglaying potentializers. The results obtained are discussed.

The authors report on a case of vegetating bromoderma observed after therapy with bromocalcic speciality (Calcibronat). Repeated bromine determinations in body fluids enabled, while reconsidering the metabolism of this halogen, to monitor its elimination.

The high number of drug addicts using marijuana (Cannabis sativa var. indica) under various forms has lead research workers to propound many a method for the characterization and assaying of delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta9-THC) and its metabolites in biological fluids. Some of them are based on labelled materials, radioimmuno-chemistry, gas chromatography alone or combined with mass spectrometry. No mention of a purely chemical method has been found in the literature, with the exception of characterizations using thin-layer chromatography and formation of dansylated derivatives (5 to 9, 11 to 14, 16, 17, 18, 22, 23, 26, 31, 32, 34, to 38, 43 to 48, 59).

Toxicological study on bis-(tributyl-tin) oxyde shows a delayed toxicity of this compound in acute experiments. The same result is obtained in sub-chronic study. Most of the animals die after a great loss of weight. In pharmacological study, T. B. T. O. depresses central nervous system, but his action on ortho and parasympathetic system is slight and non specific. In rat, rabbit and dog, the effect is a fall in blood pressure that result from a depression of the vascular smooth muscle. The death of the animal is due to respiratory arrest by a central mechanism.

In accordance with the function of the human lipoprotein composition, using serum of different lipid profiles, the distribution of delta8tetrahydrocannabinol, as isomer of delta9THC, was studied through the use of ultracentrifugation and fraction isolation, followed by biochemical analysis of the VLDL, LDL, and HDL fractions, as well as that of the non-lipoprotein protein fraction. The results indicate the existence of a linear correlation between the distribution of delta8THC and the phospholipids of the lipoprotein cenapse. No correlation between the quantity of bound delta8THC and the other lipoprotein constituents cholesterol, triglycerides, total lipids or protein could be observed.

Rabbit subacute fluoride intoxication effects (21,4 mg a day for 10 months) are researched on fluor, calcium and phosphorus metabolism and on skeletal radiology. Fluoremy increase (p less than 0.05) and there is a strong fluor retention (p less than 0.01), due to fluor digestive utilization coefficient increase (p less than 0.05), in spite of relative hyperfluorury (p less than 0.05). Calcemy decreases (p less than 0.01), but phosphatemy and alkaline phosphatasemy do not vary but a little. Calcium and phosphorus balances become negative (p less than 0.05), due to calcium digestive utilization coefficient inversion (p less than 0.05) and phosphorus digestive utilization coefficient decrease (p less than 0.05) and hypercalciury (p less than 0.05) and hyperphosphatury (p less than 0.05) with phosphorus renal reabsorption coefficient decrease (p less than 0.05). Some skeletal radiological abnormalities appear on rachis and limbs.