Exposure-Time Effect of Cement Dust on Liver Organ in Rat (Rattus norvegicus)

Background: The purpose of this research was to compare the effect of duration of cement dust on the liver organ of albino rats. In this study, a glass house animal exposure chamber was fabricated using a plexi-glass and two blowing fans of adjustable revolution. Methodology: A total of twenty five rats averagely weighing 135g were used and categorized into five groups composed of 5 rats each: A group (without cement exposure); B group (exposed to 200g of cement dust for 1 hour daily for 15days); C group (exposed to 200g of cement dust for 1 hour daily for 30 days); D group (exposed to 200g of cement dust for 1 hour daily for 45 days) and E group (exposed to 200g of cement dust for 1 hour daily for 60 days). The means of exposure was by inhalation. After the exposure periods, the animals were sacrificed, blood collected in plain bottle and analyzed for some liver function. Results: The ANOVA result showed that there were significant changes (p < 0.05) in the levels of some liver function markers such as alkaline phosphatase (ALP), Total protein (TP), Albumin and Conjugated bilirubin (CB), and the alteration patterns were irregular. On the other hand, there were no changes (p>0.05) in the levels of Aspartate amino transferase (AST), Alanine amino transferase (ALT) and Total bilirubin (TB) among the groups. Conclusion: This study has therefore shown that exposure to cement may cause some decrease of liver injury in rats regardless of the duration of the exposure.