Toxicological assessment of combined lead and cadmium: Acute and sub-chronic toxicity study in rats

• Published in: Food and chemical toxicology 2014-03, Vol.65, p.260-268
• Main Authors: Yuan, Guiping, Dai, Shujun, Yin, Zhongqiong, Lu, Hongke, Jia, Renyong, Xu, Jiao, Song, Xu, Li, Li, Shu, Yang, Zhao, Xinghong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acute toxicity test; Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Cadmium - toxicity; Chemical and industrial products toxicology. Toxic occupational diseases; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Female; Food toxicology; Lead - toxicity; Lethal Dose 50; Male; Medical sciences; Metals and various inorganic compounds; Pb and Cd; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Sub-chronic toxicity test; Toxicity Tests, Acute; Toxicity Tests, Subchronic; Toxicology
• ISSN: 0278-6915; 1873-6351
• DOI: 10.1016/j.fct.2013.12.041

•We focus on the toxicologic evaluation of co-exposure by combining environmentally relevant, low-dose levels of Pb and Cd.•A mixture toxicant LD50 values of Pb and Cd was obtained with an equitoxic mixture ratio design of rat model species.•The effects of the pathological changes of the target organs on rats were determined by co-exposured Pb and Cd. The exposure to chemical mixtures is a common and important determinant of toxicity and receives concern for their introduction by inhalation and ingestion. However, few in vivo mixture studies have been conducted to understand the health effects of chemical mixtures compared with single chemicals. In this study, the acute and 90day sub-chronic toxicity tests of combined Pb and Cd were conducted. In the acute toxicity test, the LD50 value of Pb(NO3)2 and CdCl2 mixture by the oral route was 2696.54mg/kg by Bliss method. The sub-chronic treatment revealed that the low-dose combination of Pb and Cd exposures can significantly change the physiological and biochemical parameters of the blood of Sprague–Dawley (SD) rats with dose–response relationship and causes microcytic hypochromic anemia and the damages of liver and kidney of the SD rats to various degrees. Histopathological exams showed that the target organs of Pb and Cd were testicle, liver, and kidneys. These observations suggest that Pb and Cd are practically additive-toxic for the SD rats in oral acute toxicity studies. The lowest observed adverse-effect level in rats may be lower than a dose of 29.96mg/(kgbwday) when administered orally for 90 consecutive days.