IRANIAN JOURNAL OF TOXICOLOGY
Year:2018 | Volume:12 | Issue:1|Papers Count:8

Background: Bacterial diseases in cultured fish are considered the main problem to aquaculture system. Skin is the structure that covers the body in fish. Skin histopatological alterations were used to assess the effects of Aeromonas hydrophila exposure on the yellowfin seabream (Acanthopagrus latus).Methods: In this regard, 90 A. latus were exposed to sublethal concentrations of A. hydrophila (103, 106 CFU/ml) for 3 weeks.Results: Some more severe alternations found in the skin of fish exposed. The most frequent histopathological changes detected in the skin including hyperplasia of epidermis, hypertrophy and hyperplasia of the mucosal cells and dermis edema. Some more severe alternations found in the skin of fish exposed to higher level of A. hydrophila (106 CFU/ml) included telangiectasia of dermis layer. In addition, according to the results of histometrical studies in treated fish compared to control group showed that thickness of epidermis and dermis layers were increased significantly (P<0.05).Conclusion: A. hydrophila can cause major histophatological changes in the skin of A. latus. In addition, histopathological changes of the skin provide helpful information about the environmental conditions and as particular biomarkers may provide imminent into evaluating the general health and stress status of fish.

Background: Aflatoxin contamination is a common natural phenomenon that is difficult to avoid or control and it can occur during pre and post-harvest periods under high humidity and temperature conditions, and are potentially dangerous to fish. In the present study, a feeding trial evaluated the effects of diets contaminated with aflatoxin on certain immunological parameters of common carp.Methods: The immunotoxicity assessment of juvenile common carp was performed on 180 fish divided into five groups with triplicate: Control group received normal feed (Group I); group II was fed diets contaminated with extraction solution (methanol, acetone and diluted water) as a positive control. Group III-V was respectively fed diets contaminated with 0.5, 0.7 and 1.4 mg kg-1 feed for 3 wk.Results: Lysozyme activities, total immunoglobulin contents, complement C3 and C4 activities in plasma of common carp fed with different concentrations of aflatoxins significantly decreased when compared to that of the control fish. Although plasma ACH50 contents remained unchanged in 0.5 mg kg-1 aflatoxins, ACH50 contents decreased in 0.7 and 1.4 mg kg-1 groups after 21 d of aflatoxin treatment. No significant changes were observed in immunological parameters between the control positive and control groups throughout the experimental periods.Conclusion: Oral exposure to aflatoxin (0.5 mg kg-1≤) could adversely affect immunological parameters of common carp.

Background: Despite using Citrullus colocynthis on treatment of various diseases, serious gastrointestinal disorders like bleeding are reported. In Traditional Iranian Medicine (TIM), administering equal weights of starch with this plant is suggested to produce more tolerable preparations from it. Hence, we assessed histopathological changes in rat liver and intestine after using starch as corrective agent.Methods: We designed three experiments in Veterinary Medicine School of Shahid Bahonar University in Kerman, Iran in 2016. The procedure was applied in 2016 for 15 days. In the first experiment, group No.2 and 3 received single daily dose of alcoholic pulp extract ofC. colocynthis at 300 and 600 mg/kg extract consecutively. In the second experiment, group No.4 and 5 received 300 and 600 mg/kg extract plus the same amount of starch consecutively. In the third experiment, group No.6 and 7 received extract at 300 and 600 mg/kg plus the three times weight of starch consecutively. The live rats were euthanized and their liver and intestine were removed for histopathology examination. The samples were stained with hematoxyline-eosin (H& E).Results: Rats in all of the groups died from bleeding and diarrhea except for group No.6 that showed no symptoms seen in other rats. Microscopic examination of their intestine showed no histopathological lesions or other degenerative changes of the epithelium.Conclusion: Clearly further works in modern phytotherapy will be required to delineate the role of starch in reducingC. colocynthis toxicity. Consumption of adequate weight of starch with the toxic dose ofC. colocynthis make it safe for digestive system but could not prevent necrotic changes in the liver.

Background: Heliotropium indicum is used by traditional medical practitioners in North Central Nigeria for the management of ailments including diabetes. However, the folkloric use of H. indicum as antidiabetic has been asserted, but its roles on the hyperglycemia-induced organ-specific complications are not yet scientifically proven. Thus, ameliorative effect of aqueous leaf extract of H. indicumon selected toxicological parameters in hyperglycaemic rats was investigated in this study.Methods: Twenty-five rats were randomized into five groups. The study was carried out at the Animal Holding Unit, Biochemistry Department, University of Ilorin in 2013. Four groups were intraperitoneally administered singly with 150 mg/kg b.wt of alloxan to induce hyperglycemia. The normal control (NC) and hyperglycaemic control (HC) groups were administered 1 ml distilled water, while the reference group (HR) were administered 14.2 mg/kg b.wt of metformin and the test groups, H30 and H75 were administered 30 and 75 mg/kg b.wt, the extract respectively for fourteen days.Results: The significantly increased (P<0.05) serum concentrations of tissue membrane bound enzymes (ALT, AST, ACP and ALP), direct and total bilirubin, urea and creatinine in HC indicating compromised tissue structures and functions in HC were attenuated. The significantly (P<0.05) reduced serum total protein, globulin and albumin in HC were significantly increased by both doses of the extract. The ameliorative role of the extract at the test doses was supported by the histological assessment of liver and kidney of the animals.Conclusion: Aqueous leaf extract of H. indicum can be explored at the ethnobotanical dose of 30 and 75 mg/kg b.wt on the management of some of the tissue-specific disarrays associated with diabetes.

Backgrounds: Envenomation is common in Asia including Iran that induces morbidity and mortality.This study investigated the epidemiological characteristics of cases with snake, spider and scorpion bites.Methods: In this cross-sectional design, epidemiologic data of admitted cases to the Toxicology Department of Imam Reza Hospital of Mashhad, Iran were analyzed across a 7-yr period, from 2004 to 2011. SPSS was used for data analysis.Results: This study reports 686 admissions due to animal envenomation with an incidence rate of 2.9 per 100000. Mean (SD, min-max) age of admitted patients was 30 (19, 1-90) yr, and 471 (69%) were male. Snakebite (n, percentage, annual incidence) (299, 44%, 1.3 per 100000) and spider bite (188, 27%, 0.8 per 100000) and scorpion sting (126, 18.4%, 0.5 per 100000) were most frequent cases. Overall, case fatality rate was 0.09 per 100000 which were due to scorpion and unknown bite.No cases of snakebites died in this period. The highest age-specific incidence rate was 4.6 per 100000 and related to 10-20 yr of age.Conclusion: Animal envenomation is frequent in this area and a matter of health concern. While deaths related to snake bite are no longer reported-presumably due to using effective anti-venom -managing unknown and scorpion bites need to be addressed. Envenomation was not overtly an agespecific event in this province.

Background: In this study, we evaluated antibacterial and antifungle activity of these derivatives against gram positive (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, B. cereus), gram negative (Proteus vulgaris) bacteria and fungale (Candida albicans, C. tropicalis and C. glabrata).Methods: The broth macro dilution and well agar diffusion methods were used for determination of inhibition zoom (IZ) and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) during preliminary evaluation of antimicrobial activity.Results: The (MIC) values of tested compounds revealed that all compounds were active against Staphylococcus oureusand exhibited the same antibacterial activity in comparison to ceftizoxim (MIC=125mg/mL). The results of antifungal screening showed that all the compounds were potent antimicrobial activity against tested pathogenic fungi (MIC=250 to1000 mg/ml). Compounds (6a) and (6b) showed the maximum activity with MIC value of 250 mg/ml against all tested fungi, but compound (6h) showed poor antifungal activity against all fungi. MIC values for title compounds were similar to MIC results for fluconazol.Conclusions: All the compounds are potent antifungal and antibacterial activity against tested microorganism.

Background: Children with seizure disorder are often treated with sodium valproate (SV) on longterm basis. SV acts mainly through gamma amino butyric acid pathways, reducing the excitatory neurotransmission and modifying the monoamine concentration. Altered monoamine concentration by SV is expected to cause movement disorder and cognitive dysfunction, considered reversible after the withdrawal of treatment, but some claim it to be irreversible. It is not clear whether such adverse effects continue during adulthood. The aim of this study was to investigate whether chronic administration of SV in juvenile rats causes movement disorder and cognitive dysfunction during their early adulthood.Methods: Sixteen-day-old male Wistar rats from the central animal house, KMC, Mangalore, India in 2015, received either 200 or 400 mg/kg dose of SV for 45 consecutive days and another group served as control. Thirty days after discontinuation of the drug, at postnatal day 90, the rats were tested for movement disorder and cognitive function.Results: Chronic SV treatment in juvenile rats resulted in slow movement, tremors during adulthood but did not affect muscle tone, locomotor and exploratory activities. It also caused cognitive dysfunction in adult rats.Conclusion: Despite the reported safety of chronic SV therapy, its adverse effects such as Parkinsonism symptoms or cognitive dysfunctions should be of concern in all young patients treated with SV for many years. Persistence of cognitive impairment, tremors and generalized slow movement during adulthood after cessation of treatment that was observed in this study, warrants a close monitoring system in children who receive long-term sodium valproate.

Background: We examined the effects of phenanthrene (Phe) on hematological parameters of yellowfin seabream (Acanthopagrus latus).Methods: The research was carried out in Jan 2016 at Khorramshahr University of Marine Science and Technology, Khorramshahr, Iran. Fish were injected with different concentrations (0, 2, 20 and 40 mg/kg) of Phe and blood, samples were taken from fish 1, 4, 7 and 14 d after injection.Results: Results of Phe-treated fish showed a decrease in red blood cell and white blood cell counts, hematocrit amount after 4 d and in hemoglobin concentration after 7 d (P<0.05). Mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration was enhanced in fish exposed to Phe up to day 4 (P<0.05).Phe-exposed fish showed an increase in thepercentage of neutrophils with a decrease in the percentage oflymphocytes (P<0.05) and did not represent any effects on percentage of monocytes and eosinophils, mean corpuscular volume and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration.Conclusion: Changes in hematological parameters after exposure to Phe result in a decrease of non-specific immunity.