Evaluation of Cardiovascular Impact of Sodium Cyanide Exposure in Rabbits

Abstract

Cyanide is a fast acting, potentially and deadly chemical that can exists in various forms. Exposure to small amount of cyanide through breathing, absorption through the skin or foods may have some signs and symptoms within minutes such as dizziness, headache, nausea and vomiting, rapid breathing, rapid heart rate, restlessness and weakness. This study was designed to investigate cardiac marker levels in rabbits following administration of 0.05mg/kg sodium cyanide. The rabbits were grouped into treated and control, and the study lasted for thirty days, sixty days and ninety days respectively. Cardiac Markers investigated were Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH), Creatine Kinase (CK) and Troponin (TP). The following were results of parameters investigated. Treated group for thirty days; LDH=183.70±2.46 IU/L, CK=259.20±2.55 IU/L, TP= 0.82±0.13 IU/L. Control group for thirty days; LDH=182.40±2.21 IU/L, CK= 237.10±1.67 IU/L, TP=0.41±0.08 IU/L. Treated group for sixty days; LDH=187.80±1.44 IU/L, CK=280.90±2.33 IU/L, TP=1.33±0.26 IU/L. Control group for sixty days; LDH=185.30±2.45 IU/L, CK=236.20±1.45 IU/L, TP=0.41±0.05 IU/L. Treated group for ninety days; LDH=189.30±0.41 IU/L, CK=296.30±2.18 IU/L, TP=1.87±0.12 IU/L. Control group for ninety days; LDH=184.50±2.35 IU/L, CK=236.70±1.57 IU/L, TP=0.40±0.05 IU/L. The results showed significant (p< 0.05) increase in the levels of cardiac markers in thirty days, sixty days and ninety days exposures respectively in treated group compare to control. These findings suggest that sodium cyanide is a potential toxic substance that could cause significant heart muscle damage and dysfunction in rabbits, which might worsen with increasing duration of exposure.