Biochemical studies on endosulfan toxicity in different age groups of rats.

The effect of oral administration of endosulfan (12.5 mg/kg body weight), daily, for 4 days was investigated in female rats of 4 different age groups, i.e., 15, 30, 70, and 365 days old. Maximum hyperglycemia, maximum depletion of liver glycogen and maximum inhibition of brain acetylcholine esterase activity were observed in 365-day-old (adult) animals whereas these changes were found to be negligible in 15-day-old animals. A decrease in the activity of liver aldolase was observed in rats of all age groups but maximum decrease was observed in adult rats. In contrast to these changes, erythrocyte (Na+, K+)-ATPase was maximally inhibited in 15-day-old rats. These studies indicated that the toxic effects of endosulfan are age-dependent.