Histopathological Effects of 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid on Sprague-Dawley Rats

This study investigated the toxic effects of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid on male Sprague-Dawley rats. In which, 30 rats were divided into three even groups. First group received orally normal saline (3 ml/kg b.w.) and kept as normal control in parallel to treated groups (5 rats each), second group received orally 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (30 mg/kg b.w.) for 2 months and third group received orally 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (30 mg/kg b.w.) for 6 months. At the end of each treatment, specimens from the liver, kidneys, lungs, testicles, epididymis and brain were obtained and subjected for histopathological examination. After 2 months of treatment with 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, the overall changes were milder and ranged from vascular to necrobiotic findings. On the other hand, changes seen after 6 months were severe particularly in the liver and kidney. In the liver, there were focal areas of necrosis and preneoplastic changes in the form eosinophilic preneoplastic foci, oval cell proliferation and spongiotic pericytoma. Kidneys showed glomerular swelling, thickening of the glomerular basement membrane and proliferation of the renal tubular epithelium. Lesions in the other organs included necrosis and sloughing of bronchiolar epithelial lining and mononuclear cellular infiltration in the lungs, necrosis of seminiferous tubular epithelium in the testicles and neuronal degeneration in the brain. In conclusion, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid induced deleterious pathological effects on the vital organs including preneoplastic changes in the liver in Sprague-Dawley rats.