Impact of dieldrin on liver morphological and biochemical parameters of rats

The current study deals with the effect of the organochlorine insecticide on the liver of Wistar rats. The dieldrin effect on rats was tested after a single intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of two doses: 3 and 6 mg/kg and observations were made 4 days later. Animals showed a significant dose-dependent increase in relative liver weight. Elevations of transaminases (aspartate aminotransferase [AST], alanine aminotransferase [ALT]), bilirubin and total activity of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were recorded in the sera of treated rats. Serum LDH-5 isoenzyme activity increases in a dose-dependent manner. In contrast, LDH-1 activity does not show any significant variations with respect to controls. Histological examination of the liver of dieldrin-treated animals revealed cytoplasmic vacuolation, focal necrosis and nuclear enlargement of hepatocytes. This study suggests that biochemical assessment (transaminases, LDH and bilirubin activity) and LDH (LDH-1 & LDH-5) isoenzyme profiles can be very helpful in defining the border of the liver injury, dieldrin damaged liver would be a valuable addition to histological analysis in evaluating histopathological liver changes.