Effect Of Inhalation Exposure To Kerosene And Petrol-Fumes On Some Anaemia-Diagnostic Indices In Rats

Abstract

Changes in total body weight, some anaemia-diagnostic indices (haematocrit or packed cell volume (PCV), haemoglobin (Hb) and total serum protein) were determined in rats (Wistar albino strain) after 2 weeks of 4 hours daily inhalation exposure to ungraded concentrations of kerosene and petrol fumes. The results obtained for those rats exposed to petrol and kerosene fumes showed a significant decrease (P<0.05) in all the indices assessed, when respectively compared with the results obtained for the control rats. The total serum proteins, haemoglobin and haematocrit levels were observed to decrease by 39.2, 43.2 and 28.9 percents, respectively, in those rats exposed to petrol fumes, and by 40.9, 46.9 and 38.0 percents, respectively, in those rats exposed to kerosene fumes when compared, respectively, with the control. From the result s obtained for changes in total body weight, it was observed that the percentage weight increase and growth rate of 4.6 and 22.2 percents, for rats exposed to petrol fumes, and -2.83 and -13.89 percents, respectively, for rats exposed to kerosene fumes, were significantly lower (P<0.05), compared, respectively, with 24.0 and 112.5 percents obtained for the control rats. The decrease in PCV, Hb and total serum protein, as well as weight loss and growth retardation reported in this work was observed to be more severe in rats exposed to kerosene fumes than those exposed to petrol fumes. The observations made from this study indicate that kerosene fumes inhalation is comparatively, more hazardous than petrol fumes inhalation in causation of anaemia in rats. And that inhalation of kerosene and petrol fumes may dispose the subject to anemic condition.

KEY WORDS: Anaemia, Kerosene fumes, Petrol-fumes, Total body weight, Total serum protein.

Global Journal of Environmental Sciences Vol.4(1) 2005: 59-63