Of reductionism and the pendulum swing: connecting toxicology and human health.

In this contribution we will show that research in the field of toxicology, pharmacology and physiology is by and large characterised by a pendulum swing of which the amplitudes represent risks and benefits of exposure. As toxicology usually tests at higher levels than the populace routinely is exposed to, it reverts to mostly linear extrapolative models that express the risks of exposure, irrespective of dosages, only. However, as we will explicate in two examples, depending on dosages, it is less easy to separate risks and benefits than current toxicological research and regulatory efforts suggest.

Investigation into the possible natural occurence of semicarbazide in Macrobrachium rosenbergii prawns.

In the past year there has been an increased incidence in Belgium of cases of positive semicarbazide (SEM) tests in imported freshwater Macrobrachium rosenbergii prawns, seemingly indicating the possible abuse of nitrofurazone, a banned antimicrobial agent. This was in contrast to all other European countries where no significant increase in SEM-positive samples was detected. A possible explanation for this discrepancy between Belgium and the other European Union member states could be the fact that only in Belgium were whole prawns (meat + shell) analyzed for the presence of tissue-bound metabolites of nitrofurans, whereas in the other countries only the edible part (meat) of these prawns was analyzed.