RESUMO
The influence of acute treatment with captan on nucleic acid and protein content in brain and liver, as well as on chromosomal abnormalities and mitotic division in bone marrow was studied in laboratory rats. Captan was injected intraperitoneally at two dosage levels [5 and 50 mg/ 100 g body wt.], rats were sacrificed 6, 24 and 48 hours after treatment. Administration of captan at dose I [5 mg/100 g] has no significant effect on brain nucleic acid and protein. In liver a significant reduction was observed in DNA at 24 and 48 hours, and in RNA at 48 hours after injection. Dose II [50 mg/100 g] produced a significant decrease in DNA and RNA in both organs after 6 and 48 hours, while their level was elevated after 24 hours in both organs. At the same dose, protein content was considerably decreased in brain and liver after 24 and 48 hours of treatment. Mitosis was significantly increased after 6 hours of captan [50 mg/100 g] injection, while at 24 and 48 hours the increase did not reach the significant value. Chromosomal abnormalities were observed at all periods of the study, the higher dose of captan causing more aberrations than the lower one. End to end association was the most frequent aberration, followed by centric fusion. Gaps were mainly observed in the treatment with the higher dose. Breaks never reached statistical significance. It can be concluded that captan has a marked effect on nucleic acid and protein content, cell division and chromosomal abnormalities