Subchronic Oral Exposure to Prometryne Changes Relations of Blood Biochemistry Indicators in Mice

Abstract

Prometryne is a methylthio-s-triazine herbicide used for the control of annual broadleaf and grass weeds in many cultivated plants. Significant traces are documented in the environment, mainly waters, soil and plants used for human and domestic animal nutrition. The aim of this study was to investigate whether prometryne, administered orally, could induce changes in metabolic patterns and cause cell damage in specific organs of exposed mice. Three different doses of prometryne (185, 375, 555 mg kg-1) were given per os repeatedly every 48 h, in a subchronic in vivo experimental design. After 28 days (14 doses), the correlations between the basic blood biochemistry indicators were analyzed (LDH, GGT, AlP, creatinine, ALT, AST). The increase in GGT and decrease in creatinine were the most distinct effects. LDH and AlP were increased, but rather explicitly in different dosage groups. ALT and AST did not change significantly, indicating that liver damage was milder than expected. Significant correlations between specific enzymes in renal tissue were lost in exposed groups. The correlations between muscle tissue specific enzymes were significant as a result of prometryne toxicity. Disbalance in relations between the serum indicators under study indicates that prometryne might have a myotoxic and nephrotoxic potential and the potential to affect enzymes and molecules important in normal metabolic pathways of bioenergetic physiology.