sodium-hypochlorite and Anorexia

Fifty male Japanese quails of 40 days of age were divided into five equal groups viz. A, B, C, D, and E. Drinking water supplemented with sodium hypochlorite at dose level of 0, 25, 50, 200, and 400 mg chlorine/L, respectively was offered for 6 weeks. At the end of week 6 when no clinical signs of toxicity of sodium hypochlorite appeared, the birds in groups B and C were shifted to 100 mg chlorine/L drinking water, and this level was increased fourfold (400, 1600, 6400 mg chlorine/L drinking water) every week, till i.e., 10th week (70 day). Afterwards all the birds were killed. Depression and anorexia were prominent clinical signs observed. Reduction in feed intake, body weight, and hematological parameters appeared in a dose-dependant manner. Decreased serum total proteins and weights of liver, heart, and kidneys were recorded in birds receiving high levels of sodium hypochlorite. Intoxicated birds were emaciated. Decreased weight and volume of the testes were observed in birds receiving high levels of sodium hypochlorite. However, birds receiving 400 mg chlorine (group E) had smaller but functional testes. Birds receiving higher level of chlorine (groups B and C) had decreased weight and volume of testes, atrophied seminiferous tubules, and arrested spermatogenesis. It was concluded that sodium hypochlorite at high levels, that is, 6400 mg/L in drinking water is toxic to the quails; therefore, it should be used with caution in poultry farming as drinking water disinfectant.

Topics: Administration, Oral; Animals; Anorexia; Body Weight; Coturnix; Disinfectants; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Drinking; Eating; Heart; Kidney; Liver; Male; Myocardium; Organ Size; Seminiferous Tubules; Sodium Hypochlorite; Spermatogenesis; Testis; Toxicity Tests; Water Pollutants, Chemical; Water Supply

A housewife cleaned toilet porcelain connected directly to a sewage storage tank with a mixture of cleaning agents; sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) and hydrochloric acid (HCl) solutions. She complained of insomnia on the night after cleaning and suffered from severe metabolic acidosis with extremely low blood pH, PCO2 and bicarbonate values. She recovered from the acidosis after bicarbonate transfusion, plasmapheresis and plasma exchange. Permanent blindness ensued, however, from the third day after the event. These clinical symptoms suggested that the toxic substances responsible were chloramine and methyl chloride. Their generation was confirmed by in-vitro experiments, mixing NaOCl, HCl and pooled urine from normal people. In the simulation, the methyl chloride level far exceeded (100,000 ppm) the maximal allowable concentration recommended (ca 400 ppm) by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH). Chloramine's toxic actions were confirmed using purified enzyme assay, and the inhibition of carbonic anhydrase and aldehyde dehydrogenase and the enhancement of superoxide dismutase activity were confirmed in neutral pH. The patient's clinical symptoms suggested that insomnia and permanent blindness seemed to be partly ascribable to chronic repetitive exposure to methyl chloride; catching a cold, drug intake and alcohol intake, in addition, precipitated the patient's visual loss. The possibility of this kind of intoxication with such a mixture of agents may lie latent in any situation where sewage or garbage are exposed to the open air.

Topics: Acidosis; Adult; Aldehyde Dehydrogenase; Anorexia; Blindness; Carbonic Anhydrases; Chloramines; Chlorine; Detergents; Drug Interactions; Environmental Exposure; Female; Humans; Hydrochloric Acid; Methyl Chloride; Poisoning; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders; Sodium Hypochlorite; Superoxide Dismutase; Toilet Facilities