Dietary protein and DDT toxicity

Albino rats fed for 28 days from weaning on diets containing progressively smaller percentages of casein become progressively more susceptible to the lethal effects of single toxic oral doses of DDT than are rats fed normal amounts of dietary casein (27%). When the amount of casein in the diet is increased to 81%, the LD50 also declines. The clinical signs of toxicity to DDT at the range of the acute oral LD50 were similar in animals of all dietary groups studied.

Dietary protein and pesticide toxicity in male weanling rats

The studies reviewed in this paper were undertaken at the request of the World Health Organization to obtain information on pesticides that would be least toxic for use in countries where the diet is deficient in protein. To investigate the problem, the acute oral LD(50) and the associated clinicopathological syndrome of toxicity were measured in weanling male albino rats fed for 28 days from the time of weaning on diets containing different amounts and different types of proteins. Initial results suggested that the type of dietary protein was of minor importance provided it was present in adequate amounts. Using casein as a source of dietary protein, it was found that the toxicity of 5 pesticides was not appreciably increased when the amount of dietary casein was reduced to one-third of normal requirements. When dietary casein was reduced to 13% of the requirements for normal growth, the toxicity of all 13 pesticides under study was increased. The greatest increases were associated with carbaryl, parathion and, particularly, captan. When dietary casein was increased to 3 times the normal amount, the toxicity of some pesticides such as DDT was augmented while that of others such as carbaryl was unaltered.

Analgesic abuse: maximal tolerated daily doses of acetylsalicylic acid

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