Abstract:
This study investigated the effects of di-n-butylphthalate on the liver, kidney and testes, after oral administration, to adult male albino Wistar rats. Twenty rats, weighing between 146.10g and 301.20g were arranged into groups A,B,C,D, of five rats each, and were fed with graded concentrations, 0 mg/kg, 2,000 mg/kg, 4,000 mg/kg and 6,000 mg/kg body weight of di-n-butylphthalate respectively for thirty days. Serum urea and creatinine levels were used as test of renal function, while bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine transaminase (ALT), and aspartate transaminase AST, served as indices of liver function. Estradiol and testosterone levels were also assayed as a test of reproductive function. In addition, the cell histology of liver, kidney, and testes of the rats were also examined. The results of all the liver parameters were significantly high (P<0.05), in groups B, C. and D. when compared to the level in the control group A. Conjugated bilirubin also recorded a significantly low level (P<0.05) in the treated groups B (2.14+0.04µmol/L), C (2.18+0.05µmol/L), and D (2.22+0.02µmol/L). There was also a significantly high level (P<0.05), of creatinine and urea in groups B (71.80±1.43µmol/L, 3.44±0.10Mmol/L), C (85.40±1.47µmol/L, 4.70±0.18Mmol/L), and D (108.00+0.95µmol/L, 6.30±0.13Mmol/L), when compared with the control group A. The toxicant, di-n-butylphthalate, also produced a significantly low levels (P<0.05) of estradiol and testosterone in the treated groups. The histological examination of the kidney in groups B, C, and D indicated glomerular expansion, generalized inflammation of some glomeruli and vascular congestion, while the liver cell histology revealed occasional portal inflammation mild fibrosis and moderate amount of nuclear pyknosis. The testes histology showed normal seminiferous tubules with fewer cells when compared to the control group A. After thirty days of treatment, the control group showed a mean weight gain of 1.31%, whereas the treated groups B, C and D recorded a significant decrease in weight of 2.02%, 2.11% and 1.19% respectively. This study indicates that the chemical, di-n- butylphthalate is organotoxic, and may affect organ functions and sperm production in male rats at high concentrations.
