FARMACIA, 2018, Vol. 66, 3 463 ORIGINAL ARTICLE POTENTIAL PROTECTIVE ROLE OF SELENIUM IN EXPERIMENTAL SUBACUTE INTOXICATION WITH ETHEPHON IN RATS MIHAI TUDOR 1 , BOGDAN GABRIEL ȘLENCU 1 , RODICA CUCIUREANU 1 , MAGDALENA CUCIUREANU 2 *, NINA FILIP 2 , CRISTIANA FILIP 2 , CARMEN SOLCAN 3 1 Faculty of Pharmacy, “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Iași, 16 Universităţii Street, 700115, Iași, Romania 2 Faculty of Medicine, “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Iași, 16 Universităţii Street, 700115, Iași, Romania 3 Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Iași, 3 Mihail Sadoveanu Alley, 700490, Iaşi, Romania *corresponding author: mag.cuciureanu@umfiasi.ro Manuscript received: November 2017 Abstract Ethephon (2-chloroethylphosphonic acid) is a widely used plant growth regulator. This study aims to evaluate the potential protective effect of sodium selenite (Se) in ethephon-induced subacute intoxication. We worked on 4 groups of Wistar rats which received as follows: control group - saline; group Se - selenium 1 mg/kg/day; group Eth - ethephon 200 mg/kg/day; Se+Eth - selenium 1 mg/kg/day and ethephon 200 mg/kg/day. The activity of glutathione peroxidase (GPx), alkaline phosphatase, superoxide dismutase (SOD), total antioxidant status (TAS), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartat amino- transferase (AST), creatinine and urea have been determined in plasma for all groups of rats. Se administration (in group Se+Eth) reversed the elevation of ALT (44.68 ± 8.73 U/L versus 55.77 ± 4.87 U/L, p = 0.0406), urea (218.33 ± 41.67 mg/dL versus 270 ± 36.33 mg/dL, p = 0.0369) and antagonised the decrease of TAS activity (3.30 ± 0.17 mmol/L versus 2.69 ± 0.45 mmol/L, p = 0.0088) versus group Eth. Selenium (group Se+Eth) alleviated the histopathological aspect compared to group Eth. In conclusion, Selenium showed a partial protective effect in ethephon-induced subacute intoxication in rats. Rezumat Etefonul (acid 2-cloroetilfosfonic) este unul dintre cei mai utilizați reglatori de creştere pentru plante. Scopul acestui studiu a fost de a evalua efectul selenitului de sodiu (Se) în intoxicaţia experimentală subacută cu etefon. Șobolanii masculi rasa Wistar au fost repartizaţi în 4 loturi, care au primit astfel: control - ser fiziologic; Se - seleniu 1 mg/kg/zi; Eth - etefon 200 mg/kg/zi; Se+Eth - seleniu 1 mg/kg/zi și etefon 200 mg/kg/zi. S-a determinat nivelul plasmatic al glutation peroxidazei (GPx), fosfatazei alcaline, superoxid dismutazei (SOD), statusului total antioxidant (TAS), alaninaminotransferazei (TGP), aspartat- aminotransferazei (TGO), creatininei și ureei și s-a realizat examenul histopatologic hepatic. Administrarea seleniului (lotul Se+Eth) a determinat scăderea nivelului TGP (44,68 ± 8,73 U/L versus 55,77 ± 4,87 U/L, p = 0,0406), ureei (218,33 ± 41,67 mg/dL versus 270 ± 36,33 mg/dL, p = 0,0369), creşterea nivelului TAS (3,30 ± 0,17 mmol/L versus 2,69 ± 0,45 mmol/L, p = 0,0088) şi ameliorarea aspectului histopatologic comparativ cu lotul Eth. În concluzie, seleniul prezintă un efect parţial protector în intoxicaţia subacută cu etefon la şobolani. Keywords: ethephon, intoxication, plant growth regulator, selenium, rat animal model Introduction Ethephon (2-chloroethylphosphonic acid) is a widely used plant growth regulator, with a wide action spectrum [1]. Ethephon can be used in agriculture for hurrying up flower formation or for ripening or colouring of fruits [1, 14]. Ethephon also shortens and hardens the straw of cereals, thus increasing their mechanical resistance [4]. It is also used for post-harvest acceleration of ripening, in case of mango fruits and bananas [9]. Ethephon is usually formulated as solutions (20 - 720 g/L) and is marketed under various brands, corresponding to specific uses. Formulations containing ethephon are registered in more than 60 countries [6, 12]. Ethephon is currently banned in many countries, including Romania. Its action as a growth stimulator is based on the rapid absorption by the plant and the release of its main metabolite ethene, a natural hormone for plants [18]. Ethephon can be present as residues in food products to which treatments were applied, either before harvest or post-harvest. For cereals, the residue limit is 0.5 mg/kg in Japan and China and 0.05 mg/kg in the European Union [5, 20]. The median lethal dose (LD50) for rats, in case of oral administration, is between 3400 and 4229 mg/kg body weight [15]. In case of oral administration to rodents, ethephon causes gastroenteritis, respiratory and renal pathologies, cardiac fibrosis and necrotic