Sublethal effects of inorganic mercury on the body growth rate and liver function enzymes of phenobarbitone-pretreated and promethazine-pretreated rabbits.

Hepatotoxic effects of inorganic mercury with and without pretreatment of phenobarbitone and promethazine have been described in experiments on domesticated rabbits. The total body weight and the relative liver weight decreased after mercury treatment under all experimental conditions. After phenobarbitone (PB) treatment, the serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (GOT), glutamate pyruvate transaminase (GPT), isocitrate dehydrogenase (ICDH), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activities decreased to 31%, 77%, 20%, and 27%, respectively, whereas the serum alkaline phosphatase (AP) activity increased 54%. After promethazine (PM) treatment, however, the serum GPT activity was inhibited 73%, whereas the serum LDH activity increased 53%. Both hepatic GPT and AP activities decreased after PB (41% and 46%, respectively) and after PM (50% and 52%, respectively) treatments, while the activities of LDH and ICDH increased (after PB: 924% and 108%, respectively; after PM: 147% and 40%, respectively). After mercuric chloride (HgCl2) treatment, the serum GOT, GPT, LDH, and ICDH activities decreased 69%, 83%, 11%, and 48%, respectively. The hepatic GOT, LDH, and AP activities increased 56%, 129%, and 51%, respectively. The administration of HgCl2 in PB-pretreated animals was associated with a decrease in the activities of serum GOT and AP (57% and 69%, respectively), while the ICDH activity increased 27%. The hepatic GOT, GPT, and AP increased 58%, 135%, and 77%, respectively, after mercury treatment, whereas LDH and ICDH were inhibited 78% and 29%.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)