[The biological effect of copper taken up by the body via drinking water]

A one-year toxicological experiment is carried out on albino male rats, receiving orally copper in doses 0.01, 0.1 and 1 mg/kg, respectively equivalent to the sanitary norm for drinking waters and 10 and 100 times above the latter are studied some aspects of the biological effect of copper according to the indices: total protein in blood serum, potassium and sodium in blood serum and heart, vitamin C and adenosinetriphosphate in blood. It is established that the chronic intoxication with copper in doses 1 and 0.1 mg/kg leads to the disturbance of electrolyte exchange in the organism and to changes in the level of vitamin C in blood, in doses 1 mg/kg--to disturbance of the protein exchange, and in doses 0.01 mg/kg no changes are established in all examined indices.