Chronic cyanide toxicity and urinary enzyme excretion in rabbits

Abstract

The time-course effect of sub-acute cyanide toxicity on urinary excretion of some marker enzymes for kidney damage was studied in two groups of three-month-old New Zealand White rabbits fed for eight weeks on either pure growers mash or mash plus 640ppm potassium cyanide. Weekly assays of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), acid phosphatase (AP) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were carried out in urine for both groups, and in kidney tissues on termination of feeding. Results show that LDL and ALP were detected in the urine of cyanide-treated rabbits in the second and fifth weeks respectively and up to the eighth week. AP was not detected in urine, and its activity in the kidney was unaffected by cyanide. In contrast, cyanide treatment caused significant increases in kidney LDH while kidney ALP was significantly decreased relative to controls (p < 0.05). The pattern of enzyme changes in kidney and urine suggest cyanide-induced damage to kidney tubules most probably via tissue hypoxia.



Key Words: Cyanide toxicity, enzyme excretion, urine


[Jnl Medicine & Biomedical Res. Vol.1(2) 2002: 65-69]