Department of Anatomy, Bharath Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai, India.
Department of Anatomy, Amala Institute of Medical Sciences, Thrissur, India.
J Basic Clin Physiol Pharmacol. 2021 Mar 29;33(3):265-271. doi: 10.1515/jbcpp-2020-0087.
The threat to human health or the surroundings by the use of artificial fruit ripening agents has become a global concern. Calcium carbide (CaC) and ethylene glycol (EG) are the two widely using ripening agents. The present study evaluates the toxic effect of chronic exposures of CaC and EG in rats.
CaC and EG were administered to the rats for 180 days orally. The alterations in oxido-reduction status, haematological, biochemical and histopathological parameters were analysed. Arsenic content in CaC and animal samples were detected by atomic absorption spectrometer and phosphorus by molybdate-UV method.
At chronic doses, there were no significant alterations in haematological and biochemical parameters except in creatinine level especially by EG. However, histological details revealed microvesicular fatty change in liver, corpuscles degeneration in kidney and lymphocytes infiltration in various tissues. In intestine, the mucosal lesion scoring was found high (p<0.01). SOD and CAT activities and GSH level was reduced significantly by CaC administration (p<0.01). Arsenic and phosphorus detected is above the toxic level: 7.222 and 13.91 mg/dL in CaC, 1.634 and 6.22 mg/dL in blood and 0.563 and 6.99 mg/dL in liver, respectively.
The study suggests that the industrial grade CaC and EG induce systemic toxicity to rats and the liver is the most susceptible organ. The CaC and EG toxicity is mediated through the upset of redox balance and subsequent inflammatory responses. This could be due to the presence of arsenic and phosphorus contents that detected above the normal level in the industrial grade CaC.
人工催熟剂的使用对人类健康或环境造成的威胁已成为全球性关注的问题。碳化钙（CaC）和乙二醇（EG）是两种广泛使用的催熟剂。本研究评估了 CaC 和 EG 慢性暴露对大鼠的毒性作用。
通过口服方式将 CaC 和 EG 给予大鼠 180 天。分析氧化还原状态、血液学、生化和组织病理学参数的变化。原子吸收光谱仪检测 CaC 和动物样本中的砷含量，钼酸盐-紫外法检测磷含量。
在慢性剂量下，除 EG 组的肌酐水平外，血液学和生化参数均无显著变化。然而，组织学细节显示肝脏出现微泡脂肪变性、肾脏肾小球变性以及各种组织中的淋巴细胞浸润。在肠道中，黏膜病变评分较高（p<0.01）。CaC 给药后 SOD 和 CAT 活性以及 GSH 水平显著降低（p<0.01）。砷和磷的检测含量超过毒性水平：CaC 中分别为 7.222 和 13.91mg/dL，血液中分别为 1.634 和 6.22mg/dL，肝脏中分别为 0.563 和 6.99mg/dL。
该研究表明，工业级 CaC 和 EG 对大鼠产生全身毒性，肝脏是最易受影响的器官。CaC 和 EG 的毒性是通过氧化还原平衡的失调和随后的炎症反应介导的。这可能是由于工业级 CaC 中检测到的砷和磷含量高于正常水平。
