Blood and tissue levels of diazinon in rabbit following a subacute dermal exposure to incremental doses

BACKGROUND:Uncontrolled application of diazinon (DZN)can cause environmental contamination and adverse healtheffects on humans or animals. OBJECTIVES:This study aimed toinvestigate the toxic effects and the level of DZN in serum andtissues of rabbits following a sub acute dermal exposure totoxicant. METHODS:Different doses of DZN were applied dailyto New Zealand rabbits through the ear skin in incremental dosesfor 4 weeks. Blood samples were collected at the beginning andthe end of each dose-week period. Tissue samples were collectedfrom brain, muscle, kidney and liver on day 28, after euthanizingthe rabbits. DZN contents of the blood and tissue samples weremeasured using a reversed phase HPLC system. RESULTS:Clinical observations indicated signs of toxicity in the animalsexposed to DZN as shown by diarrhea and body weight loss fromday twenty. The level of DZN in the blood elevated withenhancing exposure time and reached the highest level at the endof the fourth week (0.620±0.26ppm). The highest level of DZNwas found in the brain tissue (0341±0.015 ppm). CONCLUSIONS:The results of this study revealed the tissue accumulation andsubsequent toxic effects of DZN following the subacute dermalexposure to the toxicant. It suggests that the determination of thetoxicant level in the serum or tissue can be a monitoring methodfor the detection of the contamination rate.