Potentiation of methylmercury toxicity by piperonyl butoxide

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Abstract
Methylmercury (MeHg) is an extremely potent neurotoxin about 25% of which is degradedin vivo to inorganic mercury. Piperonyl butoxide (PB) is a widely used pesticidal synergist which inhibits many mammalian detoxification reactions. In a preliminary experiment with the high doses of PB and MeHg, PB induced a 12% decrease in mean survival time and a 20% decrease in mean latency time to neurotoxicity. The weight loss in PB-MeHg group was far greater than the control MeHg group. In a dose response experiment, mean survival times in rats fed 40 ppm MeHg-Cl were5.75, 5.3, and 5.0 weeks at 0,0.5, and 1% PB, respectively. By the ninth week 25% of rats fed 20 ppm MeHg-Cl showed neurotoxicity and 63% of the 0.5% PB fed showed neurotoxicity with some mortality. In experiments at 20 ppm MeHg-Cl both PB fed groups weighed considerably less than corresponding controls.