The effect of different concentrations of aluminum phosphide and (sodium bromide, calcium carbonate and potassium nitrate) as its possible antidotes on the digestive and reproductive system in the rat model

Abstract Aluminum phosphide (AlP) is often used as a suicide poison. Considering that there is no effective antidote, the purpose of this study was to investigate the toxic effect of ALP and evaluate the antidote potency of sodium bromide, calcium carbonate, and potassium nitrate as antidotes. In the first stage, 36 female Wistar rats were divided into 6 groups to receive AlP in different doses (0–40 mg/kg). After being sacrificed, the rats were histologically evaluated for the esophagus, stomach, pancreas, uterus, and ovary. In the second stage, animals were evaluated regarding the effect of ALP (20 mg/kg) on various fertility hormones, and subsequently the role of proposed antidots were investigated to reverse the toxic changes. Histological findings did not show significant changes in all examined tissues. The studied hormonal changes showed a significant inverse relationship between AlP and LH, prolactin, and estradiol hormones. In the studies related to the studied antidotes, the results showed that prolactin and estradiol decreased and increased, respectively, due to treatment with AlP compared to the control group. Antidote studies revealed that the prolactin level in rats poisoned with AlP and treated with KNO3 was not different from the control group, and estradiol also returned to normal and control levels due to the treatment with KNO3 and NaBr. KNO3 was shown to be an efficient antidote against AlP toxicity regarding prolactin and estradiol among the tested antidotes, while sodium bromide successfully mitigated the effect of AlP toxicity.