No abstract

Among the anthropic activities generating potentially toxic residues are those involved with bovine hide processing (tannery industries). However, knowledge is scant regarding the damage caused to the health of various organisms by tannery waste and studies are rare, especially in mammalian experimental models. This study therefore aimed to evaluate the physical and behavioral effects of the exposure of female Swiss mice to tannery effluent. To accomplish this, for a period of 15 days the animals were fed tannery effluent diluted with water in the following concentrations: 0% (control group, received only potable water), 5% and 10%. The body mass of the animals was evaluated at the beginning and end of the experiment, as well as the daily consumption of water and food. After 15 days of exposure to the effluent, the animals were submitted to the elevated plus maze (predictive of anxiety) and the forced swim test (predictive of depression). The treatments did not affect the animals' body mass, either in eating behavior or in consumption of water. However, it was found that the animals that ingested tannery effluent concentrations of 5% and 10% exhibited an anxiolytic (lower level of anxiety, greater percentage of time in the open arms, longer time and frequency in the diving behavior, less time of lurks and less frequency of freezing) and an antidepressant effect (more time in climbing behavior and less time of immobility) when compared to the control group. It was concluded that the exposure of female Swiss mice to tannery effluents (5% and 10% diluted with water) causes behavioral changes, possibly related to the neurotoxicity of this waste, without causing physical changes in the animals.Keywords: agricultural residues, animal model, anxiety, depression, toxicity, xenobiotics. Alterações comportamentais em fêmeas de camundongos

O presente estudo objetivou avaliar a toxicidade aguda e determinar a dose letal mediana (DL50) de efluentes de curtume, administrados pela via oral em fêmeas de camundongos da linhagem Swiss. Para isso, estabeleceu-se os seguintes grupos experimentais: grupo controle, o qual recebeu apenas água filtrada; grupo 20% de efluente de curtume diluído em água filtrada, 40%, 60%, 80% e 100%. Adotou-se procedimentos adaptados da Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária para avaliação da toxicidade aguda. Observou-se que as concentrações de 100% e 80% de efluente de curtume promoveram a morte de todos os animais dos respectivos grupos. Por outro lado, a DL50 correspondeu à concentração de 60% de efluente de curtume diluído em água. Para as demais doses (40% e 20%) não foi evidenciada a morte de nenhum dos animais. Acredita-se que este estudo possa subsidiar trabalhos futuros que venham investigar diferentes efeitos da exposição oral de camundongos a efluentes de curtume, possibilitando a elucidação dos mecanismos que relacionam os efeitos à esses xenobióticos.

In this study we modified the predatory stress paradigms to determine if a simple and new predatory stress paradigm could produce anxiety-like behaviour  in  female Swiss  mice, exposed to male Wistar rat.  We hypothesized that the stressor employed would induce anxiety in the short-term in mice. In addition, we assessed the behavioral effects of the paradigm as much as 12 days after the conclusion of the stress exposure and demonstrate lasting effects of the predatory stress exposure on behavior.  Collectively, the data presented here demonstrate that the  rat-on-mouse predatory  stress  paradigm  causes  changes in behavior of female Swiss mice  following  a  12  day  exposure  to  the  chronic  stress paradigm.