NEUROTOXIC EFFECTS OF LEPTOPHOS (PHOSVEL) IN CHICKENS AND RATS FOLLOWING CHRONIC LOW-LEVEL FEEDING

Leptophos (0-[4-bromo-2,5 dichlorophenyl] O-methyl phenylphos-phonothioate) (PhosvelR) was administered orally to chickens and rats in doses of 0.5 and 5.0 mg/kg/day for 26 weeks. Hens fed 5.0 mg/kg, except one, showed ataxia and became paralysed in the legs at varying times from 8 to 19 weeks. A fifth hen showed ataxia early in the experiment but recovered fully for the remainder of the experiment. Rats fed both doses and chickens fed 0.5 mg/kg showed no signs of delayed neurotoxicity. All hens fed 5.0 mg/kg stopped laying by about the third week. Animals of both species fed 5.0 mg/kg either lost weight (chickens) or gained less weight (rats) than the others. Erythrocyte acetylcholinesterase (AChE) of the chickens given both doses was significantly depressed at first, then increased, and later dropped to control levels. AChE of rats fed 0.5 mg/kg was significantly inhibited but soon recovered to within control levels. On the other hand, the AChE of rats fed 5.0 mg/kg was inhibited throughout the experiment. Plasma cholinesterase (ChE) of both species was first inhibited and then recovered erratically for both insecticide concentrations. Histological alterations in the spinal cord of paralysed hens included axon and myelin degeneration in the ventral, lateral and posterior columns. In the paralysed hens, 79% of the neurotoxia esterase in the brain were inhibited, whereas in the non-paralysed hens (including the one non-paralysed hen receiving 5.0 mg/kg/day) and all rats only about half as much was inhibited. Copyright © 1979, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC