The effect of short-term intoxication of rats with pentabromodiphenyl ether (in mixture mimic commercial products)

• Published in: Human & experimental toxicology Vol. 30; no. 5; pp. 363 - 378
• Main Authors: Bruchajzer, Elżbieta, Frydrych, Barbara, Sporny, Stanisław, Szymańska, Jadwiga A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01.05.2011; Sage Publications; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Animals; Antioxidants; Biological and medical sciences; Chemical and industrial products toxicology. Toxic occupational diseases; Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System - metabolism; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Fatty Liver - chemically induced; Fatty Liver - enzymology; Fatty Liver - pathology; Female; Flame Retardants - toxicity; Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers - toxicity; Lipid Peroxidation - drug effects; Liver; Liver - drug effects; Liver - enzymology; Liver - pathology; Medical sciences; Organ Size - drug effects; Organic contaminants; Oxidation-Reduction; Oxidative stress; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Rodents; Toxicity; Toxicity Tests, Acute; Toxicology; Various organic compounds; pentabromodiphenyl ether; rat; acute toxicity; oxidative stress; cytochromes; Short term; Cytochrome; Oxidative stress; Ether; Rat; Toxicity; Acute; Rodentia; Flame retardant; Mixture; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Animal; Poisoning
• ISSN: 0960-3271; 1477-0903
• DOI: 10.1177/0960327110371261

Until quite recently, pentabromodiphenyl ether (PentaBDE) was most commonly used as a flame retardant. Due to the considerably long atmospheric half-life of PentaBDE and its contribution to environmental pollution, it is categorized as a persistent organic pollutant (POP). As the data on the toxicity of PentaBDE is rather scarce, its potential acute toxicity was the subject of this study. PentaBDE was administered intragastrically to female rats, in a single dose (25, 200 or 2000 mg/kg b.w.). PentaBDE administered to rats disturbed redox homeostasis, which was manifested by lower total antioxidant status (TAS) in serum and by higher liver glutathione reduced (GSH) concentration. The toxic effect of PentaBDE intensified lipid peroxidation. On histopathological examination, administration of the highest PentaBDE dose (2000 mg/kg b.w.) was seen to induce symptoms of fatty liver. PentaBDE caused an increase in relative liver mass, cytochromes P-450 (after two highest doses), a dose-dependent increase in the activity of CYP lA (12—26 fold) and CYP 2B (5—6 fold) as well as the levels of CYP lAl (16—50 fold) and CYP 4A (2—3 fold) in liver.