Acute Oral Poisoning Due to Chloracetanilide Herbicides

Chloracetanilide herbicides (alachlor, butachlor, metachlor) are used widely. Although there are much data about chronic low dose exposure to chloracetanilide in humans and animals, there are few data about acute chloracetanilide poisoning in humans. This study investigated the clinical feature of patients following acute oral exposure to chloracetanilide. We retrospectively reviewed the data on the patients who were admitted to two university hospitals from January 2006 to December 2010. Thirty-five patients were enrolled. Among them, 28, 5, and 2 cases of acute alachlor, metachlor, butachlor poisoning were included. The mean age was 49.8 +/- 15.4 yr. The poison severity score (PSS) was 17 (48.6%), 10 (28.6%), 5 (14.3%), 2 (5.7%), and 1 (2.9%) patients with a PSS of 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. The age was higher for the symptomatic patients (1-4 PSS) than that for the asymptomatic patients (0 PSS) (43.6 +/- 15.2 vs 55.7 +/- 13.5). The arterial blood HCO3 was lower in the symptomatic patients (1-4 PSS) than that in the asymptomatic patients (0 PSS). Three patients were a comatous. One patient died 24 hr after the exposure. In conclusion, although chloracetanilide poisoning is usually of low toxicity, elder patients with central nervous system symptoms should be closely monitored and cared after oral exposure.

Effects of alachlor on biochemical parameters of the freshwater fish, Channa punctatus (Bloch).

The fresh water fish Channa punctatus (Bloch) were exposed to lethal and sublethal concentrations of a chloroacetanilide herbicide Alachlor and its commercial formulation Lasso 50% Emulsifiable Concentrate EC to study the impacts on some biochemical parameters - the energy dependent sources: such as glycogen, total proteins and metabolic enzymes: Aspartate Amino Transferase (AAT), Alanine Amino Transferase (ALAT), Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH), Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and Ribonucleic Acid (RNA). The glycogen, total proteins, DNA, RNA were all decreased but the activity of the enzymes AAT, ALAT and LDH were all increased which is due to the toxic stress. The percentage decrease being more pronounced at lethal concentrations than at sublethal concentrations.

Studies on histopathological changes in the gill, liver and kidney of Channa punctatus (Bloch) exposed to Alachlor.

Freshwater fish, Channa punctatus was exposed to sublethal concentration of a chloroacetanilide herbicide alachlor technical grade and lasso 50% EC for a period of 10 days. The histopathological changes in the gill include: necrosis, vacuolar degeneration, fusion and atrophy of primary and secondary gill lamellae. The tissue damages like degeneration of cytoplasm in hepatocytes, atrophy, formation of vacuoles, rupture in blood vessels and disposition of hepatic cords are the histopathological changes observed in the liver. The changes in the kidney include: necrosis, swelling of renal tubules, cellular hypertrophy and granular cytoplasm.

A Case of Erythema Multiforme Developing after Exposure to Glyphosate Surfactant Herbicide and Alachlor / 대한피부과학회지

Glyphosate surfactant herbicide (N-Phosphonomethyl glycine) is a nonselective herbicide used and studied worldwide because it is less toxic than paraquat is. Alachlor, an acetanilide agrichemical, is a herbicide that is selectively absorbed in the young buds of gramineae weeds. The selective functional mechanism of alachlor is not clear, but it is known to disturb the physio-chemical response. Human abuse can lead to intoxication and injury of the intestinal mucosa, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, hypotension, dyspnea, metabolic acidosis, respiratory distress, and death. The authors diagnosed a rare case of erythema multiforme without systemic symptoms.