• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.667-675
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• 2020

Objectives: Exposure to fine dust (PM10) could contribute to the occurrence of cardiovascular disease or respiratory abnormalities. Since garlic is known to possess an anti-oxidative stress effect, the present study was performed to evaluate the effect of garlic intake on fine dust-mediated pulmonary toxicity. Methods: Rats were intratracheally instilled with fine dust at 15 mg/kg body weight (BW)/day for five days following five-day intragastric intubation of garlic at 0.7 or 1.4 g/kgBW/day, or 13.1 mg/kgBW/day S-allyl-cysteine (SAC) as a reference component in garlic. Blood and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were collected. Results: Deposit of fine dust was visually and histopathologically observed in the lungs. Body weight gain during the instillation period was significantly lowered in all the groups instilled with fine dust. Neutrophil numbers in blood were significantly elevated in the fine dust alone group, but this alteration was diminished in the groups administered with garlic. Levels of serum glutathione were lower in the rats instilled with fine dust alone, and this decrease in the glutathione level seems dose-dependently compensated among the groups administered with garlic. Similar findings were observed in the BALF with statistical significance. Typical pulmonary histopathological observation related with inflammation was demonstrated in the lungs of the rats exposed to fine dust alone, whereas such histopathologic findings were not improved in the groups administered with garlic. Conclusion: The present study suggests that garlic intake could alleviate fine dust-mediated pulmonary or systemic toxicities. Further investigation is necessary to delineate the mechanism of garlic-mediated effects on pulmonary function.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.20 no.4 s.51
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• pp.259-271
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• 2005

Engineered nanoparticles exhibit a variety of unique and tunable chemical and physical properties. These unique properties make the nanoparticles central components and widespread potential applications in nanoindustry. However, the potential toxicities of nanoparticles have not been fully evaluated. Recently, the impacts of nanoparticles to human and environment became the emerging issue of toxicology. In this article, physicochemical properties and toxicities of carbon nanotube, fullerene, quantum dots, and other types of nanomaterials were reviewed and the strategy of risk assessment were suggested based on the frame of chemical assessment.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.314-318
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• 2012

The aims of the present study were to estimate the possibility for toxicity test and compare acute toxicity of potassium dichromate in the larva stage of Neocaridina denticulata, Daphnia magna and the juvenile stage of Oryzias latipes. N. denticulate, a freshwater shrimp lives in Korea, is an indigenous species and considered to be useful for toxicity test. D. magna and O. latipes were recommended as a test species for the OECD test guideline. The 96 h-$LC_{50}$ potassium dichromate value was 0.62 mg $L^{-1}$ for the larva stage of N. denticulata and 168.44 mg $L^{-1}$ for the juvenile stage of O. latipes. The 48 h-$EC_{50}$ value was 1.27 mg $L^{-1}$ for the D. magna. The study was confirmed higher sensitivity of the larva stage of N. denticulata to potassium dichromate compared to the D. magna and the juvenile stage of O. latipes.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.28
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• pp.2.1-2.7
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• 2013

Objectives Tricalcium phosphate and calcium hydrogenorthophosphate are high production volume chemicals, mainly used as foodstuff additives, pharmaceuticals, lubricants, synthetic resin, and disinfectants. Phosphate has the potential to cause increased algal growth leading to eutrophication in the aquatic environment. However, there is no adequate information available on risk assessment or acute and chronic toxicity. The aim of this research is to evaluate the toxic potential of phosphate compounds in the aquatic environment. Methods An aquatic toxicity test of phosphate was conducted, and its physico-chemical properties were obtained from a database recommended in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) guidance manual. An ecotoxicity test using fish, Daphnia, and algae was conducted by the good laboratory practice facility according to the OECD TG guidelines for testing of chemicals, to secure reliable data. Results The results of the ecotoxicity tests of tricalcium phosphate and calcium hydrogenorthophosphate are as follows: In an acute toxicity test with Oryzias latipes, 96 hr 50% lethal concentration ($LC_{50}$) was >100 (measured:>2.14) mg/L and >100 (measured: >13.5) mg/L, respectively. In the Daphnia test, 48 hr 50% effective concentration ($EC_{50}$) was >100 (measured: >5.35) mg/L and >100 (measured: >2.9) mg/L, respectively. In a growth inhibition test with Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata, 72 hr $EC_{50}$ was >100 (measured: >1.56) mg/L and >100 (measured: >4.4) mg/L, respectively. Conclusions Based on the results of the ecotoxicity test of phosphate using fish, Daphnia, and algae, $L(E)C_{50}$ was above 100 mg/L (nominal), indicating no toxicity. In general, the total phosphorus concentration including phosphate in rivers and lakes reaches levels of several ppm, suggesting that phosphate has no toxic effects. However, excessive inflow of phosphate into aquatic ecosystems has the potential to cause eutrophication due to algal growth.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.373-381
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• 2012

Antibiotics have been issued recently in water environments because of potential impacts on ecosystem and public health. This study was aimed to investigating the degradation of antibiotics such as tetracycline, lincomycin, sulfamethazine and cephradine using gamma ray irradiation. And the toxicity before and after irradiation on antibiotics was tested in order to examine the aquatic eco-risk assessment by aquatic organisms. In addition, comparing tests on toxicity for gamma ray and UV irradiated antibiotics was conducted. Four different antibiotics were prepared by concentration of 30 mg/L with demi-water respectively. The absorption dose of gamma ray was ranged from 0.2 to 2 kGy. The concentration of four antibiotics was gradually decreased corresponding to the increase of the absorption dose. A method for toxicity assessment using Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata was evaluated to the most acceptable compared with methods by Daphnia magna and Microtox$^{(R)}$ in terms of sensibility. It showed that the reduction of toxicity on antibiotics treated by gamma ray was superior comparing to the test results obtained from UV treatment. By-products from antibiotics treated by gamma ray were easily decomposed by microorganism and their toxicity was also evaluated to low.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.259-266
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• 2018

Glycomacropeptide (GMP), a whey protein of milk, has functions including differentiation and development of nervous system, and anticancer and antiviral effects. To develop new functions, N-acetylneuraminic acid (NANA) containing 7% sialic acid was separated from GMP to produce G-7%NANA. N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc) is another type of sialic acid separated from GMP, which has been linked to immune disorders and chronic inflammation-mediated diseases. Therefore, safety was a concern in the use of G-7%NANA in functional foods. To ensure safety, in this study, three genetic toxicity tests on G-7%NANA were conducted. In the reverse mutation test using Salmonella typhimurium TA98, TA100, TA1535, TA1537, and Escherichia coli WP2uvrA, and in the chromosome aberration test using CHO-K1 cells, no significant differences from negative control were found at all dose levels. Similarly, no dose-related differences were evident compared to negative control in the micronucleus test using ICR mice. There was no evidence of G-7%NANA-related genetic toxicity.

• Molecular & Cellular Toxicology
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.54-59
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• 2006

The toxicity of cadmium on Caenorhabditis elegans was investigated to identify sensitive biomarkers for environmental monitoring and risk assessment. Stress-related gene expression were estimated as toxic endpoints Cadmium exposure led to an increase in the expression of most of the genes tested. The degree of increase was more significant in heat shock protein-16.1, metallothionein-2, cytochrome p450 family protein 35A2, glutathione S-transferase-4, superoxide dismutase-1, catalase-2, C. elegans p53-like protein-1, and apoptosis enhancer-1 than in other genes. The overall results indicate that the stress-related gene expressions of C. elegans have considerable potential as sensitive biomarkers for cadmium toxicity monitoring and risk assessment.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.285-294
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• 2019

Objectives: For suitable risk management of the domestic aquatic environment, it is necessary to conduct toxicity tests using species native to Korea. In the present study, we performed toxicity ring tests using endemic freshwater arthropoda Neocaridina denticulata and evaluated its validity and reproducibility as an international standard test species. Methods: To evaluate the sensitivity levels of N. denticulata to hazardous chemicals, toxicity values for several chemicals were compared with other standard test species. Intra- and inter-laboratory acute toxicity tests were performed both within a single laboratory and among four laboratories respectively using 3,4-Dichloroaniline, which is generally used as a reference test substance in fish toxicity tests. In addition, intra- and inter-laboratory coefficient of variations (CVs) were calculated to evaluate reproducibility based on the estimated toxicity values. Results: The sensitivity of N. denticulata to several chemicals was found to be similar with D. manga, indicating that the species is valid as a test species. The CVs of the intra- and inter-laboratory tests were 22.946% with four qualified runs and 8.828% among the four laboratories, respectively. Conclusions: N. denticulata serves in an important role in the food chain of Korean aquatic ecosystems and also inhabits several other Asian countries. Since the validity and reproducibility of the species were confirmed as a toxicity test species in this study, further efforts are needed to establish N. denticulata as the international standard test species for the appropriate risk assessment of aquatic ecosystems at home and abroad.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.7-12
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• 2011

In order to perform an acute toxicity assessment of a new algicide, thiazolidinedione derivative (TD53) with enhanced solubility and lower toxicity to marine ecosystem, representative 3 organisms: plant plankton (Skeletonema costatum), animal plankton (Daphnia magna), fish (Paralichthys olivaceus) related in the food chain of marine ecosystem according to OECD standard methods were employed in the exposure experiment. The exposure assessment showed that $EC_50$ of S. costatum in 96-hour, $EC_50$ of D. magna in 48-hour and $LC_50$ of P. olivaceus in 72-hour for TD53 were $1.53\;{\mu}M$, $0.61\;{\mu}M$ and $2.14\;{\mu}M$ respectively. NOEC (No Observed Effect Concentration) and PNEC (Predicted No Effect Concentration) were calculated to be $0.25\;{\mu}M$ and 6.10 nM, respectively from $EC_50$ of most sensitive strain, D. magna. Comparing with the results of toxicity assessment previously performed by using Ulva pertusa Kjellman accepted as an ISO standard method, the values of PNEC showed 3.7 times lower toxicity in case of this study employing 3 organisms, indicating that if the organisms which are more representative and sensitive in marine ecosystem are further investigated, more accurately and validly predicted toxicity of TD53 could be applied in field.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.22 no.2 s.57
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• pp.171-175
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• 2007

Indigenous species means a species that is likely, due to historical presence, to occur at a specified site for some portion of its life span. Therefore, indigenous species can be useful as an indicator to assess environmental risk caused by hazardous chemicals in a specific site. So far a few toxicity studies using freshwater species which are indigenous to Korea have been carried out. In this study, a freshwater shrimp (Neocardina denticulata) indigenous to Korea was used for acute toxicity test of heavy metals. Neocardina denticulata were exposed to cadmium chloride $(CdCl_2)$, copper chloride $(CuCl_2)$ and zinc chloride $(ZnCl_2)$ using automatic flow-through system for 96 hours. The 96h LC50s were calculated as 0.043 $(0.042{\sim}0.045)mg\;CdCl_2/L,\;0.104(0.098{\sim}0.113)mg\; CuCl_2/L\;and\;2.021\;(1.633{\sim}2.594)mg\;ZnCl_2/L$. When compaired with some international standard species such as medaka(Oryzias latipes), Neocardina denticulata had high sensitivity. Therefore, this study suggested that Neocardina denticulata have possibilities for a sensitive test species to test heavy metal toxicity in aqua-system.