Effect of Calcium Carbide on Rat Tissue

Abstract

To evaluate the effects of Calcium carbide (CaC₂) in biological system, an in vivo study was carried out on Long Evans rats. CaC₂ was administered orally once daily for one month with specific concentrations. Group- I was considered as the control group (without CaC₂), Group - II, III, IV and V were the sample groups treated with CaC₂ having concentration of 1g/kg, 2g/kg, 5g/kg and 10g/kg body weight respectively. The experiment was conducted to detect any cellular and molecular level changes caused by CaC₂. The histopathology and isozyme assay were performed to analyze the changes in the activities of the genes affected by the free radicals released from CaC₂. The molecular analysis included different isozymes namely esterase and acid phosphatase. Polyacrylamide electrophoresis of whole cell extract of control subjects and CaC₂ administered rats were performed; subsequently the gels were treated with the substrates for acid phosphatase and esterase respectively. No difference was observed in the whole cell extract band pattern between the control subject and the CaC₂ administered rats, which grossly indicates that the CaC₂ has no effect on the expression pattern of isozymes (acid phosphatase and esterase). Histopathological analysis of liver, heart, spleen, kidney and lungs were performed to observe any change due to the administration of CaC₂. Remarkable changes were observed during the histopathological study of lungs and kidney only. The histopathological analysis of kidney showed the thickening of the lining of collecting tubules with changes in cell structure while lungs were found to be increased moderately in weight, with focal areas of consolidation that was found red-brown to red. Key words: Calcium carbide; Histopathological study; Isozymes Dhaka Univ. J. Pharm. Sci. 6(2): 93-98, 2007 (December)