Evaluation of behavioral profiles in mice fed with milk supplemented diets derived from human lactoferrin gene-modified cows.

To date, many safety assessments of genetically modified (GM) food have been done, but there was still considerable skepticism about the safety of genetic modified foods because no study could be designed to discover all of the potential effects. Since behavioral endpoints could provide one of the most sensitive strategies to reveal subtle functional deficits. In the present study, behavioral profiles in mice fed with milk derived from human lactoferrin gene-modified cows were investigated to enrich the toxicological data of GM food. Conventional milk and GM milk were added to diets at a proportion of 7.5%, 15% and 30%(w/w). After the mice consuming different diets for 30 days, a battery of behavioral tests were conducted to evaluate motor, sensory and cognitive functions. No significant differences were observed in spontaneous activity, grip strength and nociception between the treatment groups. And animals of different groups exhibited similar performance in rotarod, dark box, step-down and MORRIS water maze task. The study suggested that mice fed with conventional milk or human lactoferrin gene-modified milk had similar motor, sensory and cognitive functions.

[Study on dermal absorption of Imidacloprid in vitro].

OBJECTIVE: The dermal absorption of Imidacloprid was studied to understand the effects of concentrations and skin reservoir on pesticide risk assessment in in vitro absorption studies. METHODS: By using Franz diffusion cell and the transdermal barrier of viable Wistar rat abdomen skin or frozen ones, the imidacloprid content in the receptor fluid and skin was determined by LC/MS/MS method, and the absorption effects were compared between two concentrations of Imidacloprid solutions and two types of skin, respectively. RESULTS: All percentages reported are % of applied dose. In vitro studies using viable skin, the Imidacloprid content in the receptor fluid of high and low concentration was 6.8%, 6.6% respectively; and 10.7%, 1.3% in skin, thus total absorption was 17.5% and 7.9%. And in vitro studies using both viable and frozen skin under the same concentration circumstances, the Imidacloprid content in the receptor fluid of viable and frozen skin was 6.6% and 0.7% respectively, in skin was 1.3% and 10.7%, and total absorption was 7.9% and 11.4%. CONCLUSION: Comparison of these in vitro results showed that either concentrations or skin reservoir had an effect on the dermal absorption. During 6h exposure, the high concentration in viable skin had the maximum dermal absorption value, which was the worst-case exposure estimate, also the best single estimate for pesticide risk assessment.

Safety assessment of meat from transgenic cattle by 90-day feeding study in rats.

The study was carried out to evaluate the subchronic toxicity of meat derived from human lactoferrin gene-modified cattle in male and female Wistar rats. Rats were fed 5% or 10% transgenic meat diet, 5% or 10% conventional meat diet, or AIN93G diet for 90 days. During the study, body weight and food consumption were weighed weekly and clinical observations were conducted daily. At the end of the study, urinary examination, hematology and blood biochemistry examination, macroscopic and microscopic examinations were performed. There were no biologically significant differences in these factors between the rat groups fed transgenic meat diet and conventional meat diet. Therefore, the present 90-day rodent feeding study suggests that meat derived from the transgenic cattle is equivalent to meat from conventional cattle in use as dietary supplements.