Neurotoxicological investigation of the new Hungarian pesticide Toxurazine.

The new total herbicide Toxurazine was subjected to general toxicologic and neurotoxicologic examinations. Rats were treated with 1/80, 1/40 and 1/20 of the acute oral LD50 for three months. The animals showed a decrease in body weight and a transitional anaemia. The product had a slight liver damaging effect. Renal function tests and urine analysis were negative. With time, the learning ability of animals tested in maze for 42 days became impaired dose dependently. At the end of the treatment, both at rest and on flashlight stimulation, as well as in complex EEG activity and in each frequency band there was a decrease in electric activity. In electroneuromyographic tests no effect damaging the peripheral nervous system could be detected. The hot plate method showed the reaction time of the animals to be slightly extended. The results suggest that the compound should only be used in uncultivated areas.