Toxicological impact of lead and/or rodenticide diphacinone I. Changes in bleeding time, body weight, amino acid and protein contents and food and water consumption in albino rats

ABSTRACT

An observable depression in food consumption accompanied with a decrease of body weight were noticed in animals exposed to lead in various time intervals of the study. Water consumption showed a decrease in initial periods of exposure to lead but it tended to elevate by the 4[th] week of intoxication. This parameter also decreased during the period of diphacinone group and of lead treated animals followed by diphacinone were higher than those of the control group, however liver weights of both treated groups decreased compared to those of controls. Kidney weight did not change due to treatments. Bleeding time increased through the later periods of lead acetate treatment. Exposure of animals to diphacinone preceded by lead acetate for 4 weeks caused futher increase in the bleeding time compared to control or lead treated groups. Animals treated with only diphacinone showed an elongate bleeding time which was longer than those of other experimental groups. Total protein contents decreased significantly in the liver kidney and brain during the second week of intoxication. In contrast serum showed substantial elevations especially during the initial periods of the treatment. Amino acid analysis indicated a general initial decrease in various organs followed by marked elevations by termination of the experiment