The skin sensitization of cinnamaldehyde is probably initiated by the reaction of cinnamaldehyde with epsilon-amino groups on protein side chains. Alpha-Substituted cinnamaldehydes, which are known not to be skin sensitizers, react very slowly or not at all with amines in comparison with cinnamaldehyde.
Ground water that was used as a source of potable water by residents of a small community became contaminated by leachate from a 300,000 barrel pesticide waste dump. An environmental health survey of the residents and an apparent control group was conducted to determine if any adverse health effects resulting from exposure to the toxic compounds, many of which were hepatotoxins, could be detected. The survey utilized a health questionnaire, a clinical examination, and a biochemical screening. The latter included analysis of serum for liver and kidney function parameters, determination of hepatitis A and B serology, and bile acid determinations on fasting and postprandial serum and urine specimens. Air and water from representative homes and urine from study participants were analyzed for selected organic compounds. The biochemical screening was conducted on two occasions 2 months apart. The initial hepatic profile testing revealed elevated concentrations of the serum enzymes, alkaline phosphatase and serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase, in residents who had used the contaminated water. During follow-up testing of these same persons 2 months later, these values were significantly reduced, as were postprandial serum concentrations of the bile acid of cholyglycine. Six individuals in the exposed group had slight hepatomegaly compared to one individual in the intermediate exposure group and none in the controls. Concentrations of carbon tetrachloride were as high as 18,700 microgram/L in the well water samples. The biochemical and clinical observations are suggestive of a transitory liver injury probably related to exposure to the contaminated drinking water.
Food‐chain uptake of Cd, Pb, Zn, and Cu by meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) was assessed in wheat (Triticum aestivum var. Ranger) and old‐field plant communities receiving sludge or fertilizer applications. Sixteen 0.1‐ha enclosures received either 8,963 kg ha−1 year−1 Milorganite (6‐2‐0, N‐P‐K) or 1,569 kg ha−1 year−1 ureaphosphate fertilizer (34‐11‐0), or were untreated (controls).Mean Cd concentrations in livers and kidneys of voles (all age/sex groups) from sludge‐treated fields in the second year of application were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than controls; in the first year only females from sludge‐treated wheat fields had higher levels than controls. Ranges of mean Cd concentrations in voles from sludge‐treated fields were 0.1–1.1 µg g−1 wet weight in liver samples and 0.4–6.6 µg g−1 in kidneys; ranges in controls were 0.01–0.04 µg g−1 in liver and 0.01–1.6 µg g−1 in kidneys. Cadmium concentrations in voles from fertilizer‐treated fields did not differ from controls.Liver and kidney Cu concentrations were elevated in some age/sex groups from sludge‐ and fertilizer‐treated fields. There were no treatment differences in Pb or Zn concentrations, nor in organ or whole‐body weights.Short‐term (2‐year) effects on mammals of sludge application to land appear to be benign, despite accumulation of metals in vital organs.
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