Chronic (90 days) oral toxicity assessment of ethephon, a commercially available fruit ripener in male wistar rats

Abstract

Use of artificial fruit rippers are increasing worldwide. Ethrel is one fruit rippners that is in the market. The present study investigated the effects of ethrel on organ weights and haematological parameters of male rats. The rats were (n=9) treated with 100, 250, 500mg/kg of ethrel or distilled water (DW) for 90 days. Another two sets of animals (n=6) were orally treated with 500mg/kg of ethrel and DW for 90 days and were kept for another 28 days without treatment (recovery) to evaluate the reversibility. Food intake and body weight changes were recorded weekly. Upon autopsy, haematological parameters and sperm parameters were measured. Treatment did not exhibit any overt toxicity. Similarly, haematological and sperm parameters or relative organ weight did not change significantly. However, liver/body weight increased significantly at 500mg/kg. In conclusion, exposed to higher doses of ethrel may lead to liver enlargement. Further studies on liver toxicity is required.