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ABSTRACT
Calcium carbide, a grayish-white solid chemical widely used in industries, has found new applications in artificial fruit ripening and food preservation, raising concerns about its potential impact on human health. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of calcium carbide ingestion on liver function. Seventy healthy (70) male adult Wistar rats of comparable size were used for this study. They were purchased and bred at the animal house of the Department of Anatomy, University of Benin, Benin City. They were divided into cages and fed with grower mash Feed and clean water periodically. Their cages were cleaned daily to avoid contamination. The rats weighed between 140g-220g. They were acclimatized in the Animal House for about two weeks before the research commenced. The animals were divided into five (4) groups. The control group was fed with mash feed and water, the low dose group were administered 0.96mg/kg BW of dissolved calcium carbide, the medium dose were administered 1.92mg/kg BW of dissolved calcium carbide and the High dose group were administered 2.88mg/kg BW of dissolved calcium carbide. Results were analyzed using Mythic 18 Hematology. Results showed a slight but statistically significant decrease in aspartate transaminase levels in the Low Dose group compared to the Control group. However, no significant differences were observed in alanine transaminase and alkaline phosphatase levels among the groups. Furthermore, in the Histological examination of the liver for all the doses in week one and two, there was no significant finding, however, at week three of the low dose and high dose, it was observed that there was oedema of the sinusoids which seemed to have subsided at the fourth week of administration. In conclusion, calcium carbide ingestion may cause changes in human liver function, particularly in its Hepatocellular integrity.
