Evaluation of acute and subacute toxicity and mutagenic activity of the aqueous extract of pecan shells [Carya illinoinensis (Wangenh.) K. Koch].

The infusion of pecan shells has been used to prevent and control hypercholesterolemia, diabetes and toxicological diseases. The aim of the present study was to evaluate toxicity and mutagenic effects of pecan shells aqueous extract (PSAE). Wistar rats were treated with a single dose of 300 or 2000 mg/kg of PSAE in the acute toxicity test. For the subacute test, the animals received 10 or 100 mg/kg of PSAE for 28 days. The mutagenicity was evaluated using Salmonella/microsome assay in TA1535, TA1537, TA98, TA100 and TA102 S. typhimurium strains in the presence and absence of metabolic activation (S9 mix) and micronucleus test in bone marrow. HPLC analyses indicated the presence of tannins, flavonoids, gallic and ellagic acids. Except for triglycerides, all treated groups presented normal hematological and biochemical parameters. Lower levels of triglycerides and weight loss were observed in the 100 mg/kg group. Mutagenic activities were not detected in S. typhimurium strains and by the micronucleus test. Based on these results, PSAE was not able to induce chromosomal or point mutations, under the conditions tested. The 100mg/kg dose showed significant antihyperlipidemic action, with no severe toxic effects.

Elementos traço na água e em vísceras de peixes da Bacia Hidrográfica Butuí-Icamaquã, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil / Trace elements in water and viscera of fish from Butuí-Icamaquã Basin, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Metais pesados, também denominados elementos traço, podem ser essenciais ao metabolismo de organismos vivos, e, ao mesmo tempo, dependendo de suas concentrações, altamente tóxicos. Com o objetivo de investigar a toxicidade da água da Bacia dos Rios Butuí-Icamaquã, na fronteira oeste do Rio Grande do Sul, foram analisados, através de espectrofotômetro de absorção atômica, os teores de alumínio, cádmio, chumbo, cobre, cromo, manganês, níquel e zinco em vísceras abdominais de peixes, coletados, entre junho de 2007 e fevereiro de 2008, em pontos determinados nos rios Butuí, Icamaquã e Uruguai. Mostraram-se acima do nível considerado seguro para consumo humano: alumínio, cádmio, manganês e níquel e teores próximos aos limites legais foram encontrados para cobre e cromo. A análise simultânea de amostras da água coletadas nos mesmos locais acusou em espectrofotômetro de luz visível, níveis superiores aos limites legais de bromo, chumbo, cianeto, cobre, cromato, fenóis, fosfato, manganês e sulfeto. Estes elementos, em tais concentrações na água e nos peixes, podem comprometer o ecossistema ou representar riscos à saúde humana.

Heavy metals, also called trace elements, may be essential to the metabolism of living organisms, and at the same time, depending on their concentrations, highly toxic. With the objective to investigate the toxicity of water of the Butuí-Icamaquã Rivers Basin on the border west of Rio Grande do Sul, were analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometer, the contents of aluminum, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, manganese, nickel and zinc in abdominal viscera of fish, collected between June 2007 and February 2008, at selected points in Butuí, Icamaquã and Uruguai rivers. Aluminum, cadmium, manganese and nickel were above the levels considered safe for human consumption and levels near the legal limit were found for chrome and copper. The simultaneous analysis of water samples collected in the same locations showed levels above the legal limits of bromine, chromate, copper, cyanide, lead, manganese, phenols, phosphate and sulfate. These elements, in such concentrations in water and in fish, may compromise the ecosystem or pose risks to human health.