Abstract:

Objective: To investigate acute and accumulative toxicity and residual patterns of sodium 4-chlorophenoxyacetate
(4-CPANa), a plant growth regulator usually abused in poisonous bean sprouts, in mice. Methods: The oral acute toxicity
of 4-CPANa in mice was determined by a modified Korbor method, and oral accumulative toxicity was assayed by
an incremental exposure accumulative coefficient method with an initial dose of 107.4 mg/kg. Physiological indices
of mice were recorded during the experimental period. Serum biochemical and organ indices and morphological
examination of mice were carried out, and the 4-CPANa residues in mouse body were analyzed by ultrahigh-performance
liquid chromatography at the end of the experiment. Results: The half-lethal dose (LD50) of 4-CPANa to mice was
1 074.1 mg/kg and the accumulative coefficient K was larger than 8. Compared with the control group, 4-CPANa showed
different influence on physiological and serum biochemical indices in mice. Furthermore, 4-CPANa also resulted in visible
lesions and significant histopathological changes in the liver and kidney of mice. The 4-CPANa residue in mice was
observed in the following decreasing order: urine > kidney > liver > blood > heart > brain > muscle. Conclusion: 4-CPANa
was classified as the 4th level of toxicity and belonged to the low-accumulation family. The toxic effect of 4-CPANa toward
mice was mainly exhibited as lesions in liver and kidney.

Key words: sodium 4-chlorophenoxyacetate, acute toxicity, accumulative toxicity, ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC), poisonous bean sprout