Additives in petroleum solvents have been reported to have adverse health implications. An evaluation study on some toxicological effects of occupational exposure to petroleum products (especially petrol which contains tetraethyl lead) amongst twenty five occupationally exposed artisans and twenty five graduate students of College of Health Sciences, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nnewi, Nigeria as controls, was carried out using the following biochemical markers: electrolytes, urea, uric acid, inorganic phosphorus, creatinine, zinc and blood lead, as well as the activities of alanine and aspartate aminotransferases, and alkaline phosphatase. The results showed that occupational exposure of human subjects to lead in petrol increases the concentrations of uric acid (357 ± 123µ mol/L) and phosphate (1.5 ± 0.5m mol/L) in exposed subjects compared with unexposed subjects (uric acid 228 ± 105µ mol/L, phosphate 1.2 ± 0.41m mol/L; p < 0.01 in both cases). Significantly lower activities were observed for alkaline phosphatase (66 ± 18.9 iu/L). The activities of alanine aminotransferase (11.4 ± 4.0 iu/L) and aspartate aminotransferase (15.8 ± 4.4 iu/L) in occupationally exposed artisans were higher compared with unexposed subjects (alkaline phosphatase = 78 ± 22.4 iu/L alanine aminotranferase = 6.8 ± 2.7 iu/L, aspartate aminotranferase = 9.6 ± 3.5i u/L; p < 0.01 in all cases). Occupational exposure of human subjects to lead significantly increased blood lead (59.6 ± 15.9 µg/dL) and decreased plasma zinc (71.3 ± 14.4 µg/L) in exposed compared with unexposed subjects (blood lead = 35 ± 7 µg/dL, zinc = 108.4 ± 16.9 µg/dL; p < 0.01). The results indicate that occupational exposure to lead in petrol may compromise liver and renal function.
The effect of bonny-light crude oil was assessed in adult albino rats. The rats were administered with 200, 400, and 800 mg/kg body weight of the crude oil orally for 7 days. Fluid intake was measured daily, initial and final animal body was recorded. The toxic effects on the kidneys were assessed and histological studies carried out. The results revealed that the kidney cells were damaged; crude oil caused a destruction of the renal reserve capacity. There was a significant increase (p ? 0.05) in creatinine in the high dose group (800mg/kg), and a significant decrease (p ? 0.05) in urea concentration. Histological examination indicates that crude oil induced severe pathologic changes in the forms of necrosis and oedema.
The hepatotoxic and hematologic effects of the extract of a Nigerian herbal remedy, U&D Sweet Bitter, were investigated in mature Wistar albino rats. Twenty male albino rats were allocated into four dose groups of five rats each. Food and fluid intake, body weight, absolute and relative weight of the liver, and hematologic and biochemical parameters were measured. The absolute and relative weights of the liver significantly decreased (p < or = .05) when compared with controls. Doses of 539, 1077, or 1616 mg/kg of U&D Sweet Bitter given orally for 90 d induced a significant (p < .05) dose-dependent increase in aspartate aminotransferase and alkaline phosphatase and decrease in alanine aminotransferase compared with controls. Hepatic and haematologic parameters of treated groups were significantly different from those of controls. Histologic examination revealed that U&D Sweet Bitter induced severe necrosis and edema.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.