[Effect of the pesticide, fundazol, on the myocardium of rats with experimental atherosclerosis].

The effect of the pesticide Fundazol (methyl-l-butyl-carbamoil-benzimidazol carbamate) on the development of sclerotic lesions in the heart muscle of experimental animals, caused by atherogenic diet, was studied. Investigations were carried out in a series of 144 albino rats of either sex, treated accordingly with 250 mg/kg and 1000 mg/kg Fundazol or atherogenic diet alone and with a combination of atherogenic factor and either dose of the pesticide. Using biochemical test (dehydrogenase and phosphatase activities, quantity of soluble and insoluble collagen and elastin proteins, content of glucosamineglycans and glucoproteins) and routine morphologic and histochemical methods, the authors studied the metabolic processes and the characteristics of the fibrous structures and basic intercellular substance in the heart muscle. Combined with atherogenic diet, Fundazol potentiated its effect: the developing pathologic process was more severe and progressed more rapidly than in animals exposed to the atherogenic factor alone.