Experimentally induced citrinin and endosulfan toxicity in pregnant Wistar rats: histopathological alterations in liver and kidneys of fetuses.

In the present investigation, citrinin (CIT) (10 mg kg(-1) feed) and endosulfan (1 mg kg(-1) body weight) were administered orally alone and in combination to pregnant Wistar rats from gestational day 6 to 20 and their fetuses were collected to evaluate the histopathological alterations in hepatic and renal tissues. In CIT-fed group fetal liver, the changes were less marked, showing only sinusoidal dilation and mild vacuolar degeneration, whereas the consistent changes in the fetal kidney included tubular degeneration, medullary tubular necrosis, cystic dilatation of tubules, distortion of glomerulur capillary tuft and interstitial fibroblastic proliferation which separated clusters of tubules. In the endosulfan group, the liver was predominantly affected, showing vacuolar degeneration, karyomegaly and severe sinusoidal dilation, whereas the renal changes were mainly confined to tubular degeneration and varying degree of interstitial fibrosis. In the combination group, the hepatic and renal histopathological alterations in the fetus, though of similar nature to those of the individual groups, were more severe.