Cadmium, a toxic heavy metal, is widely present in food. It has been reported that chronic cadmium exposure is associated with kidney disease, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease and cancer. The aim of this study was to assess the dietary cadmium exposure and potential health risk in different age-sex groups of the Chinese population (children aged 4–11 years, young people aged 12–17 years and adults aged over 18 years), and in the southern and northern population using a semi-probabilistic method. Cadmium was detected in 228,687 food samples from 32 food categrories by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. The dietary cadmium exposures were estimated by combining the cadmium concentration data with food consumption data derived from the China National Nutrient and Health Survey 2002, and evaluated against the Provisional Tolerable Monthly Intake (PTMI) of 25 μg/kg BW/month established by the Joint FAO/WHO expert committee on food additives (JECFA). The mean dietary cadmium exposure of the general Chinese population (15.3 μg/kg BW/month) was below the PTMI. The high consumer exposures (95th percentile, P95) for the general population and different sub-groups were higher than the PTMI. The dietary cadmium exposure of the southern population was apparently higher than that of the northern population. Rice was the most important contributor to cadmium exposure for Chinese people, especially those living in the southern areas of China. These findings indicated that the health risk from dietary cadmium exposure of the general Chinese people was low, but the health risk of cadmium exposure of certain sub-groups should be of concern.

trans-Resveratrol (resveratrol) has been shown to have beneficial effects on the cardiovascular system in a number of studies. It is, however, unclear whether this naturally occurring compound can protect against cardiac hypertrophy. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of resveratrol on cardiac hypertrophy in vivo and the potential underlying mechanisms involving endothelin (ET), angiotensin (Ang) II and nitric oxide (NO) in partially nephrectomized rats. Animal models bearing cardiac hypertrophy were replicated in male Sprague-Dawley rats following partial nephrectomy (PNX). Resveratrol (10 or 50 mg/kg) was administered to rats by gavage for 4 weeks. Simultaneous PNX and sham operation controls were simultaneously established in the present study. The systolic blood pressure (SBP) of rats was measured at baseline and, along with heart weight, after 4 weeks treatment. Serum ET-1, AngII and NO concentrations were determined. In the present study, it was shown that, compared with rats in the sham-operated group, rats in the PNX group had significantly higher SBP (154.1 +/- 22.7 mmHg), heart weight (1.69 +/- 0.24 g) and serum ET-1 (125.70 +/- 26.27 pg/mL) and AngII serum concentrations (743.63 +/- 86.50 pg/mL), whereas serum NO concentrations were lower (21.1 +/- 6.9 micromol/L; all P < 0.05). These values in the sham control group were 114 +/- 10 mmHg, 1.28 +/- 0.13 g, 52.44 +/- 21.85 pg/mL, 528.7 +/- 158.5 pg/mL and 53.21 +/- 23.87 micromol/L, respectively. After 4 weeks treatment with 50 mg/kg resveratrol, SBP, heart weight and ET-1 and AngII concentrations had decreased to 135.4 +/- 15.8 mmHg, 1.39 +/- 0.15 g, 97.11 +/- 26.74 pg/mL and 629.64 +/- 116.18 pg/mL, respectively. However, the serum NO concentration had increased to 40.1 +/- 14.6 micromol/L. These values were significantly different from those obtained for the PNX group. In conclusion, trans-resveratrol appears to be able to protect against the increase in SBP and subsequent cardiac hypertrophy in vivo and the mechanisms responsible may involve, at least in part, modulation of NO, AngII and ET-1 production.

Background Traditional toxicological studies focus on individual compounds. However, this single-compound approach neglects the fact that the mixture exposed to human may act additively or synergistically to induce greater toxicity than the single compounds exposure due to their similarities in the mode of action and targets. Mixture effects can occur even when all mixture components are present at levels that individually do not produce observable effects. So the individual chemical effect thresholds do not necessarily protect against combination effects, an understanding of the rules governing the interactive effects in mixtures is needed. The aim of the study was to test and analyze the individual and combined estrogenic effects of a mixture of three endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), bisphenol A (BPA), nonylphenol (NP) and diethylstilbestrol (DES) in immature rats with mathematical models. Method In the present study, the data of individual estrogenic effects of BPA, NP and DES were obtained in uterotrophic bioassay respectively, the reference points for BPA, NP and DES were derived from the dose-response ralationship by using the traditional no observed adverse effect (NOAEL) or lowest observed adverse effect level (LOAEL) methods, and the benchmark dose (BMD) method. Then LOAEL values and the benchmark dose lower confidence limit (BMDL 10 ) of single EDCs as the dose design basis for the study of the combined action pattern. Mixed prediction models, the 3 × 2 factorial design model and the concentration addition (CA) model, were employed to analyze the combined estrogenic effect of the three EDCs. Results From the dose-response relationship of estrogenic effects of BPA, NP and DES in the model of the prepuberty rats, the BMDL 10 (NOAEL) of the estrogenic effects of BPA, NP and DES were 90(120) mg/kg body weight, 6 mg/kg body weight and 0.10(0.25) μg/kg body weight, and the LOAEL of the the estrogenic effects of three EDCs were 240 mg/kg body weight, 15 mg/kg body weight and 0.50 μg/kg body weight, respectively. At BMDL 10 doses based on the CA concept and the factorial analysis, the mode of combined effects of the three EDCs were dose addition. Mixtures in LOAEL doses, NP and DES combined effects on rat uterine/body weight ratio indicates antagonistic based on the CA concept but additive based on the factorial analysis. Combined effects of other mixtures are all additive by using the two models. Conclusion Our results showed that CA model provide more accurate results than the factorial analysis, the mode of combined effects of the three EDCs were dose addition, except mixtures in LOAEL doses, NP and DES combined effects indicates antagonistic effects based on the CA model but additive based on the factorial analysis. In particular, BPA and NP produced combination effects that are larger than the effect of each mixture c...