Abstract

Magos, L., and Butler, W. H. (1972).Brit. J. industr. Med.,29, 95-98. Effect of phenobarbitone and starvation on hepatotoxicity in rats exposed to carbon disulphide vapour. Male albino rats given 80 and 50 mg/kg phenobarbitone sodium by intraperitoneal injection 24 and 18 hours before 4-hour exposure to 2·0 mg/l carbon disulphide (CS₂) developed hydropic degeneration in the centrilobular zone of the liver. Less marked in some fed animals, this change became general and more severe in rats starved for 24 hours before exposure. On incomplete diets with excess of sucrose or animal fat, the frequency and severity of lesions were somewhat between those observed in starved and fed rats. This observation calls attention to the possibility that in certain circumstances of industrial exposure, such as nutritional deficiency plus drug treatment, CS₂ might cause disturbances in liver function.