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Behavioral Toxicity of Cadmium in Normal and Protein Malnourished Rats (Two-Generation Study)

Syed Saleem Husain

Assessments of behavioral toxicity of cadmium (Cd, 50 ppm, through drinking water for 120 days) were carried out in growing male rats, maintained on diets containing 21% and 8% protein. The effects of chronic exposure to cadmium toxicity were studied both in Fo and F1 generations. The low protein diet (8%) caused a significant reduction in the litter size, a delay in the physical developmental landmarks like less body weight and eye opening, and also caused marked delay in the development of sensory–motor reflexes like visual placing, cliff aversion, in the F1 offspring. The viability and lactation indices were not significantly affected. Cadmium exposure resulted in significant growth retardation in both the dietary groups of the Fo–generation rats during the growing, gestation and lactation periods. A significant delay in the development of the criterion response in the ascending wire mesh test was observed in the pups of cadmium exposed malnourished dams only whereas the development of beam balancing ability was significantly delayed in the pups of cadmium exposed dams of both the diet groups but the effect was more marked in the protein malnourished groups. The data indicate the enhanced vulnerability of protein malnourished animals to the behavioral aberrations caused by Cd toxicity.