Toxicology and Industrial Health

Belser-Ehrlich, Sarah ;Harper, Ashley ;Hussey, John ;Hallock, Robert

doi: 10.1177/0748233711432570pmid: 22903169

Ergotism in humans and cattle are caused by several species of Claviceps that infect rye and other cereal grains. Symptoms in humans vary greatly and are generally classified as convulsive, gangrenous, or gastrointestinal (enteric). Cattle are particularly susceptible to both gangrenous and hyperthermic ergotism (also called summer syndrome). The prevalence of ergotism has decreased as knowledge of the fungus has increased, mainly through implementation of regulations and advances in milling procedures. However, outbreaks in humans have recently occurred in lower socioeconomic populations of Ethiopia (1977 and 2001) and India (1975) with devastating results. Prominent outbreaks in cattle have occurred in Australia (1987), the United States (1996), South Africa (1996–1997), and Brazil (1999) and, as opposed to human cases, they do not appear to be bound by economic development. This review provides a detailed summary of all major ergot epidemics since 1900 in both humans and cattle. Special attention is devoted to the ergotism symptoms and to the regulations surrounding the control of ergot in the food supply.

Wu, Jinfeng ;Ye, Xiaoli ;Cui, Xuelong ;Li, Xuegang ;Zheng, Lifeng ;Chen, Zhu

doi: 10.1177/0748233711433933pmid: 22397836

This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of cigarette smoke (CS) on the activity of oral peroxidase (OPO) after berberine was added to the cigarette filter. Activated carbon fiber (ACF) was chosen to load berberine as a part of the cellulose acetate (CA) filter to obtain the modified B-ACF cigarette filter. Then the effects of CS from the testing cigarettes on the activity of OPO were investigated in vitro by the 2-nitrobenzoic acid assay, and the smoke chemistry was also analyzed, especially the content of hydrogen cyanide (HCN) in the CS. The results indicated that the loss of activity of OPO in B-ACF filter cigarette group decreased by 20% and 25%, compared with those of ACF and CA filter cigarette groups, respectively. The relative residual activity of OPO in B-ACF filter group was increased with the increase of berberine in the filter compared with the CA filter group. It could be observed that the reduction in HCN might be related to the berberine in the cigarette filter, reducing the inhibition of CS on the activity of OPO.

Ezemonye, LIN ;Ikpesu, TO

doi: 10.1177/0748233711433930pmid: 22301815

The effects of endosulfan, an organochlorine pesticide regularly used in Niger Delta ecological zone, were examined and also its effects on various biochemical parameters in the serum of Oreochromis niloticus, a dominant fish species in Nigeria. One hundred and fifty juveniles of O. niloticus were used for the toxicity study. Lethal concentration of 50% mortality of sample (LC50) was determined using semi-static method. From the result of the LC50 determination, lower concentrations of endosulfan were prepared for sublethal test. Five fish per test concentration in three replicates were exposed to varying concentrations of endosulfan. Glucose level and the enzyme activities were measured spectrophotometrically at the end of 28 days of exposure. Glucose levels and glutathione-S-transferase activities were significantly (p < 0.05) higher than the control and the concentrations increased with increasing concentration of the toxicant and exposure duration. Cortisol secretion was significantly (p = 0.05) lower in the treated fish than the control. These findings indicated that endosulfan altered all the investigated parameters, which is an indication of their suitability as markers for fish and other aquatic organism toxicity study.

Sani, A Mohamadi ;Nikpooyan, H

doi: 10.1177/0748233711434954pmid: 22312035

The aim of this study was to evaluate aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) contamination in milk samples in Mashhad in Iran. A total of 60 milk samples were collected from retail stores of five regions in June 2011. The occurrence and concentration range of AFM1 in the samples were investigated by high-performance liquid chromatography method. AFM1 was found in 100% of the examined milk samples by average concentration of 16.16 ng/L and the contamination level ranging between 2 and 64 ng/L. The concentration of AFM1 in all the samples was lower than the Iranian national standard and Food and Drug Administration limit (500 ng/L), and only in one (1.6%) of the samples, the concentration of AFM1 was greater than the maximum tolerance limit (50 ng/L) accepted by European Union and Codex Alimentarius Commission. Statistical evaluation showed no significant difference between the mean concentrations of AFM1 in milk samples taken from different regions (p > 0.05).

Bozari, Sedat ;Agar, Guleray ;Aksakal, Ozkan ;Erturk, Filiz A ;Yanmis, Derya

doi: 10.1177/0748233711433939pmid: 22312034

We aimed to determine the genotoxic potential of essential oil (EO) obtained from Nepeta nuda. The chemical content of EO was measured via gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The most abundant contents were 4aα,7β,7aα-nepetalactone (18.10%), germacrene (15.68%) and elemol (14.38%). For genotoxic effects of EO, Zea mays’ seeds were exposed to four different concentrations of this oil. Inhibition of root and stem growth were observed with an increase in EO concentrations. Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) method was used to determine the genotoxic effects of EO. Some changes occurred in RAPD profiles of germinated EO-treated seeds. Even though total soluble protein quantity vary, the data observed from the protein profiles of sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) showed that there was a little differentiation between band profiles of treated samples and control group. We concluded that the basis of interactions between plants, like allelopathy, may be related with genotoxic effects of EO.

Messarah, Mahfoud ;Saoudi, Mongi ;Boumendjel, Amel ;Kadeche, Lilia ;Boulakoud, Mohamed Salah ;Feki, Abdelfattah El

doi: 10.1177/0748233711433934pmid: 22301814

The present work was undertaken to evaluate the protective effect of an aqueous extract of green tea (GT, Camellia sinensis) leaves against arsenic (NaAsO2)-induced biochemical toxicity and lipid peroxidation production in experimental rats. The treatment with arsenic exhibited a significant increase in some serum hepatic and renal biochemical parameters (alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, total protein, albumin, bilirubin, cholesterol, urea and creatinine). But the co-administration of GT has increased the level of plasmatic concentration of biochemical parameters. Exposure of rats to arsenic caused also a significant increase in liver, kidney and testicular thiobarbituric acid reactive substances compared to control. However, the co-administration of GT was effective in reducing its level. To conclude, our data suggest that arsenic exposure enhanced an oxidative stress by disturbing the tissue antioxidant defense system, but the GT co-administration alleviates the toxicity induced by arsenic exposure.

Chen, Jie ;Han, Jia ;Wang, Jianmin

doi: 10.1177/0748233711433940pmid: 22294440

Excessive exposure to nickel may cause health effects on the blood, lung, nose, kidney, reproductive system, skin and the unborn child. In the present study, we found that Ni2+ exposure led to a time- and dose-dependent proliferation arrest and death in human leukemia HL-60 cells. In the presence of 1 mM Ni2+, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation (indicated by the level of malondialdehyde) increased to 323% and histone acetylation decreased to 32%. Interestingly, quercetin (QU) dose dependently prevented Ni2+-induced cell proliferation arrest and death from 0 to 80 μM but showed similar activity of scavenging ROS at the concentrations of 20, 40 and 80 µM. When the effect of QU on histone acetylation was studied, QU significantly prevented Ni2+-induced histone hypoacetylation at 40 or 80 µM. Moreover, increase in histone acetylation by trichostatin A could also significantly enhance the protection effect of QU at 10 or 20 µM but not at higher concentrations. Thus, our results further confirmed the critical role of ROS and histone hypoacetylation in the cytotoxicity of Ni2+ exposure and proved that QU is a potentially useful native dietary compound to efficiently prevent Ni2+-caused cytotoxicity through both diminishing ROS generation and increasing histone acetylation.

Ibrahim, Khadiga S ;El-Sayed, Eman M

doi: 10.1177/0748233711433937pmid: 22301819

Developmental disorders (DDs) are important leading cause of disability in developed countries and also in the United States. DDs are a group of individual conditions that result from abnormal nervous system development and cause altered function. They can begin at any time from prenatal to 22 years of age and the disability usually presents itself throughout a person's life time. Down syndrome, autism, neural tube defects, schizophrenia, cretinism, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder are among the most common DDs that currently plague numerous countries and have varying incidence rates. Their occurrence may be partially attributable to the lack of certain dietary nutrients. Notably, essential vitamins, minerals, and ω-3 fatty acids are often deficient in the general population of America and developed countries and are exceptionally deficient in patients suffering from mental disorders. Typically, most of these disorders are treated with prescription drugs, but many of these drugs cause unwanted side effects. Therefore, psychiatrists recommend alternative or complementary nutritional remedies to overcome the adverse effects of those drugs. Studies have shown that daily supplements of vital nutrients, such as that contain amino acids, often effectively reduce symptoms of the patients, because they are converted into neurotransmitters that alleviate depression and other mental disorders. The aim of this article is to discuss the role of dietary imbalances in the incidence of DD and to emphasize which dietary supplements can aid in the treatment of the above-mentioned DD.