Description of Subtheme:
Toxicology dates back to the early humans, who used animal venom and plant extracts for hunting, warfare, and assassination. The Ebers papyrus contains information on many poisons, including hemlock (the state poison of the Greeks), aconite (a Chinese arrow poison), opium (used as both a poison and an antidote), and metals such as lead, copper, and antimony. Cleopatra’s knowledge of natural primitive toxicology allowed her to use the more genteel method of falling on her asp. During the fourth century, poisonings in Rome reached epidemic proportions. The women conspired to remove men from whose death they might profit. Nero used poisons to kill his stepbrother and employed his slaves as food tasters to differentiate edible mushrooms from their more poisonous kin.
Toxicology has been defined as the study of the adverse effects of xenobiotics. Historically, toxicology formed the basis of therapeutics and experimental medicine. Toxicologists are concerned with mechanisms of action and exposure to chemicals as a cause of acute and chronic illness. They are involved in the recognition, identification, and quantification of hazards resulting from occupational exposure to chemicals and the public health aspects of chemicals. Toxicologists have been intimately involved in the discovery and development of new drugs, food additives, and pesticides. Clinical toxicologists develop antidotes and treatment regimens to improve poisonings from xenobiotic injury.
Toxicology provides critical information and knowledge that can be used by regulatory agencies, decision makers, and others to put programs and policies in place to limit our exposures to these substances, thereby preventing or reducing the likelihood that a disease or other negative health outcome would occur.
Research topics are centered around the following topics:
1) Investigate the toxicological interaction of drugs (chemotherapeutic drugs) and their therapeutic effects on cancer models.
2) Investigate the protective and/or toxicological and pharmacological effects of natural herbs and nanoparticles on several animal organs.
3) Reveal histological, histopathological, and ultrastructural alteration in experimental animal models.
Selected Research Project:
In recent years, zinc oxide (ZnO) and nickel oxide (NiO) nanoparticles (NPs) have become more prevalent in commercial and industrial products. However, questions have been raised about their potential harm to human health. Limited studies have been conducted on their intraperitoneal toxicity in rats, and their coexposure effects remain uncertain. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate some biological responses induced by a single intraperitoneal injection of ZnO-NPs and/or NiO-NPs in rats. The results showed that the administration of NPs reduced body and organ weights as well as red blood cell (RBC) indices and altered white blood cell (WBC) and platelet (PLT) counts. The experimental groups exhibited elevated levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), creatinine (CREA), urea, lipid profile, glucose (GLU), total protein (TP), albumin (ALB), and malondialdehyde (MDA), and decreased uric acid (UA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione (GSH). Histological observations also revealed architectural damage to the liver and kidneys.
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