D. Tardieu et al., PHENOBARBITAL-TYPE P-450 INDUCERS PROTECT RATS AGAINST METALDEHYDE TOXICITY, Veterinary and human toxicology, 38(6), 1996, pp. 454-456
The mechanism of metaldehyde toxicity is unclear. It may be due to the
compound itself or, at least in part, to acetaldehyde resulting from
the hydrolysis of metaldehyde in the stomach. In this study, we orally
dosed rats with twice the LD(50) Of metaldehyde following no pretreat
ment (control) or pretreatment with 1 of 3 different cytochrome P-450
inducers either phenobarbital or o,p'-DDD (inducers of cytochromes P-4
50 IIB and IIIA) or 3-methylcholanthrene (an inducer of P-450 IA). Our
results show strong protection against metaldehyde poisoning afforded
by the phenobarbital-DDD P-450 inducers, but only weak protection wit
h 3-methylcholanthrene pretreatment. Acetaldehyde administered at the
same molarity failed to produce the clinical signs of metaldehyde toxi
city and no clinical differences were observed between any of the pret
reated groups.