1. Experiments to determine the toxic doses of some   dipping fluids containing arsenic and sulphur are described.
2. It appears that in all the more common forms of arsenical preparations, which are soluble in water, the m.l.d. for rabbits can be calculated on the basis of approximately 0•014 gm. of As₂0₃ per Kg. of body-weight. Sheep, cattle and horses are more susceptible than rabbits to arsenic.
3. The m.l.d. of diluted (dipping-strength concentration) Capex Lime Sulphur Dip for rabbits is approximately 7.5 c.c. per Kg. of body-weight and for sheep approximately 15 to 20 c.c. per Kg. of body -weight.
4. In dipping-strength concentration Tarzan Lime Sulphur Dip and Nelson's Polysulphide Dip possess approximately the same degree of toxicity as Capex Lime  Sulphur Dip.The articles have been scanned in colour with a HP Scanjet 5590; 300dpi. Adobe Acrobat XI Pro was used to OCR the text and also for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format.Includes bibliographical referencesab201

Bekker P.M.

Steyn, Douw G.

The articles have been scanned in colour with a HP Scanjet 5590; 300dpi. Adobe Acrobat XI Pro was used to OCR the text and also for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format.Includes bibliographical references1. Experiments to determine the toxic doses of some   dipping fluids containing arsenic and sulphur are described.
2. It appears that in all the more common forms of arsenical preparations, which are soluble in water, the m.l.d. for rabbits can be calculated on the basis of approximately 0•014 gm. of As₂0₃ per Kg. of body-weight. Sheep, cattle and horses are more susceptible than rabbits to arsenic.
3. The m.l.d. of diluted (dipping-strength concentration) Capex Lime Sulphur Dip for rabbits is approximately 7.5 c.c. per Kg. of body-weight and for sheep approximately 15 to 20 c.c. per Kg. of body -weight.
4. In dipping-strength concentration Tarzan Lime Sulphur Dip and Nelson's Polysulphide Dip possess approximately the same degree of toxicity as Capex Lime  Sulphur Dip.ab201

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Oncle1'Stepoort J ovu1·nal of V eterinary Science ancl Ani111al Ind us try, Volume 11 , JV umbe1· 1, July, 1938. Printed in t he U nion of South Africa by t he Go1'ernment Printer, Pretoria. The Toxicity . of some Dipping Fluids contain-ing Arsenic and Sulphur. By DOU vV U. S'l'EYK, Section of Pharmacology and 'l'oxicology, aud P . M . BEKKER, Section of Chemical Pathology, Onder-stepoort. 1. ARSENICAL DIPPING FLUIDS. ARSENICAl~ dipping fluids are very extensively used in th e Union of South Africa i11 tht eradicati01.L of tick;;, lice anJ scab mite::;. 'rhe occurren ce of so many cases of accidental arseniea1 poisoning in stock is therefore not : nuprising. In vie\Y of all the cases of accidentnl poisoning with dipping fluids the information , upplied in this paper will be of interest . A. SomuM ARSEKITE. 'l'h e follmY ing solutions o{ sodium arsenite are employed on a very large scale as dipping fluids for cattl e and sheep : -(a) Three-day dipping fluid containing 0 · 08 gm. of As20, per 100 c.c. Of this fluid approximately 1,200 to 2,600 c.c . ( = ± 2 to ± 4 pints) would be fatal for a full-grO\m beast and 300-GOO c.c. ( = ±! to ± 1 pint) for a sh eep . (b) Seven-day clipping fl uid containing 0· 16 gm. of As20 3 per 100 c.c. Of this fluid a fatal quantity for a full-grown beast would be approximately 600 to 1,260 c.c. ( = ± 1 to 2 pints) and for a sheep 150 to 300 e. c . ( = ±1· to } pint) . (c) :Fourteen-day dipping fluid conta ining 0 ·24 gm. of A s20 3 per 100 c. !:. 0£ this fluid approximately 400 to 800 c.c. ( = * to 11 pint) would be fatal for a full-grown beast and 100 to 200 c.c. ( = ± tr to t pint) for a sheep. B. CooPER's P owDER. Cooper and Nephews (South Africa), Limited , are the manufac-t urer s of (a) Coop ~r 's Double Dipping Powder aml (b) Cooper 's Powder. 247 TOXICITY OF DIPPJNG FLUID S COKTAI .'II KG ARSEKIC AND SULPHUR . (a) Cooper' s Double Vi]Jping Pou;der. The follo"·ing is the register ed composition of Cooper's D ouble D ipping Powder: -Rabbit No. A. B. c. Total nrsenie equiYale nt to 9 ·4 per cent. As20 3 • Free sulphur 57·5 per cen t. Combined sulphur Total sulphur 6 · 1 per een t. 63 · 6 per cent. TAnLE I. Etcperi m ents 1cith Cooper's Dovble Dipping Patccle1·. [ ·weight 1 in K g. 3 · 0 1·9 Quantity of Cooper 's Double Dipping Powder given . 0 · 2 gm. of dry powder per os. 0·5 gm . of dry powder per os. 2·8 0·5gm.ofdry I powder per os. Result. Transient apathy a.nd loss of appetite which lasted for about 2 days. Listlessness and loss of appetite set in within four hours after dosing ; on the following day t here were pronounced apathy, profuse diarrhoea, mar-ked paresis, especially of hind quarters, Ia bou red respiration , and weak and accelerat ed pulse. Death occurred within 36 hours after dosing. P.M. appearances : General cyanosis; hyperaemia of lungs ; pronounced acute catan·hal gastroen-teritis; fatty degeneration of t he liver and kid -neys. Symptoms and post mortem appearances similar to those described in B. Death occurred seven days after dosing. -D-.J - 1--1----2 ·25 1·0 gm. of dry powder per os. Symptoms of poisoning as described above set in within three hours after dosing. Death occurred 8 hours after dosing. 2· 1 1 · 5 gm. of dry powder per os. Profuse diarrhoea. within 5 Jus. after dosing ; the animal died 6 hours after dosing. P .l t1. appearances: pronounced acute haemorr-lungs and liver ; further as in B. 1 hagic gastroenteritis, pronounced hyperaemia of - ----------- -------------------}'. 1 2 · 22 2 · 5 gm. of dry Profuse diarrhoea within 4 hrs., death occurring P .M. appearances : as in E . I powder per os. within 6 hrs. -------1--------1--------- -------------G. 1 2 · 22 I I 15 c.c. ( = 0·2 gm .) of dipping I strength solut ion per stomach tu be. Result as in A. 248 D. G. STEYN AND P . M. JlEIOIElt. TAHLE I (con6nverl ). ====c===========================-==:=:::.:.:=-:..::_~ Rabbit No. Weight in Kg. Quan t ity of Cooper 's Dipping Powder given. Result. -----~----~----------~---------------------------------H. 2 · 15 I. 2·05 J. 2·05 37·5 c.c. (= 0· 5 gm. ) of dipping-strength solution per stomach tube. 37·5 c.c. ( = 0·5 gm. ) of dipping-strength solution per stomach tube. 75·0 c.c. (= 1 ·0 gm .) of dipping-strength solution per stomach t ube. Result as in B. Symptoms and post mortem appearances as in B. Death occurred within 70 hours after closing. Died 4! hours after dosing. Symptoms and post mortem appearances as in E. -------------------------'------ ------------------------------K. L. 1 2. 36 75. o c. c. I ( = 1·0 gm.) of clipping-strength solution per 2·82 stomach tube. 112 ·0 c. c. ( = 1·5 gm.) of dipping-strength solut ion per st omach tube. Died 6 hours after dosing. Symptoms and post mortem appearances as in .F. Profuse diarrhoea with in 3 hours after closing a nd death within 4 hours. Symptoms and post mor-t em appearances as in E with the gastroenteritis of a less acute nature. From the above table i t could be concluded that 0·16 g m. of Cooper' s Double Dipping Powder per Kg. of body weight constitutes the m.Z.d. for the rabbit. As the powder is stated to contain 9 · 4 per cent. of As2 0 3 the m.l.d. of t he arsenic (expressed as As2 0 3 ) present in it is approximately 0 · 014 g m. per K g. of body-weight for r abbits . The reg-istererl composition of Cooper's Dip is as follows :--" Arsenic present as trioxide = l2· 6 per cent. A s2 0 3 , arsenic presen t as pentoxide = G·O pe1· cent. As2 0 3 , arsenic present as sulphides and sulphur - arsenic eomplexes = 4·0 per <"ent. As20 3 • Sodium com-bined " ·ith arsenic = 4·9 per cent. Na 20. Total sulphur = 68-0 per cent.". The Cooper's Po,nlet was administ er ed per stomach tuhe in a small quantity of. \Yater. 249 'tOXICITY OF DIPPING FLUIDS CONTAINING ARSENIC AKD SULPHUR. 'l'ABLE Il. Exp•wr'tment with Coope1''s Powde1'. Rabbit Weight Quantity of No. in Kg. Cooper's Dip Result. administered. I A. 1 1·15 I 0·075 gm. The animal developed transient loss of appetite and diarrhoea lasting approximately four days. B. 1·75 I 0·075 gm. Same symptoms* as in A but to a less marked degree. c. 1·7 0·15 gm. D-ied within 2t hours after dosing. D. 1 :65 0·15 gm. Died within 36 hours after dosing. E. 2·05 0·3 gm. Died within 27 hours after dosing. F. 1·9 0-3 gm. Died within 28 hours after dosing. G. 1·6 0·5 gm. Died within 5 hours after dosing. H. 1 ·8 0·5 gm. Died within 15 hours after dosing. * The symptoms are similar to those described in Table I. From the above table it is evident that O·OG g-m. of Cooper's Powder ( = ± 0-014 gm. As2 0 3 ) could be considered the approximate m.l.d. per Kg. bo<1y-weig-ht of nJ bbit. From the results of the above experiments it appears that Cooper's Powder g-ivel_l per os is approximately two and a hal£ times as toxic as Cooper's Double Dipping- Powder. This naturally does not apply to cases where animals are clipped in solutions prepared with these two powderti. According to experiments conducted by Theiler (1912) the m.l.d. of Cooper's Dip for sheep appears to be approximately 2·0 gm. From the results of a large number of experiments conducted upon rabbits by one of us (D. G. S.) with different arsenical pre-parations (sodium arsenite, Cooper's Dip, Cooper's Double Dipping Powder, Rademeyer's Locust Poison) it appears that they all possess approximately the same degree of toxicity when the toxic doses are calculated on the bases of their As2 0 3 content, namely 0·014 gm. As2 0 3 per Kg. body-weight for rabbits. Sheep, cattle and horses are more susceptible than rabbits to the effects of arsenic. It is obviously impossible to lay down a definite figure as m.l.d. of an arsenical preparation for any particular class of animal as its degree of toxicity depends upon:--(1) Its degree of solubility in water; (2) whether water is drunk soon after having ingesteil 1t, or not: (3) whether taken on a full stomach, or not; and (4) whether vomiting occurs after ingestion, or not. 250 D. G . STEYN AND P. :YL llEJ\J\ElL II. SULPHUR DIPS. CAPEX. 'rhis is a liquid lime-sulphur dip, eonr;isting of polysulphides of calcium [generally CaSx(X = 4 ·G)], manufactured by ~Iessrs. Cape Explosives, Somerset vVest, C.P. 1'he specimen of uncliluteJ clipping-fluid employed in our experiments contained 34 · 4 7 per cent. of polysulphide sulphur and the diluted dip (dipping-strength) con-tained 1·5 per cent. of polysulphicle :rulphur. Capex is very extensively used in the eradication of scab lll sheep and mange in goats. 'l'he follo 11·ing table (III) i ;:; a sum1nary of the drenching expen-ments conducted " ·ith Capex upon rabbits and sheep . 'l'ABLE III . E .vpe1,imrents w ith ttndiluted and diluted ( rhpp·£ng-srten.r;thP' Cr~zJe.1; . -Animal Weight No. in Kg. -l~abbit I 1·95 A. Habbit 2 ·6 B. Rabbit I 2·25 c. Habbit 2· 1 D. Habbit 1·95 I E. I I Quantity of Cap ex administered per stomach tube. 2·5 c.c. of undilu ted Capex on 16.6.37. 5 · 0 c.c. of undiluted Capex on 16.6.37. 10 c.c. of undiluted Capex O)l 16.6 .37. 30 c.c. of undiluted Capex on 16.6 .37. 60 c.e. of undiluted Capex on 16.6 .37. Result. La boured respiration (costo-abdominal), loss of appe-tite, and an accelerated and st•·ong pulse persisted for 2 days after drenching. The following symptoms of poisoning set in within 7 minutes after drenching :- pronounced laboured respiration (deep, costo-abdominal and accelerated), pronounced restles3ness, pronounced general cyan-osis, gene.-al convulsions, muscular fibrilations. Death occurred 7 minutes after drenching, the heart stopping about 2 mins. after cessation of respiration. After the heart had stopped the animal still showed a few general clonic spasms (asphyxia ?). P.M. appearances : Prono1mced general cyanosis ; pronounced hyperaemia of the lungs and liver, which was almost black in colour, blood dirty -brown in colour, large amount of sulphur precipi-t a ted in the stomach and small intestine. No evidence of gastro-intestinal irritation. The animal died within 3 minutes after drench ing with symptoms and post mortem appearances as described in rabbit B. Death occurred within 2 minutes with symptoms and post mortem appearances as described in rabbit B. l~esult ident ical with that described in mbbit D. 251 TOXICTTY OF DIPPING FLUIDS CONTAINING ARSEKTC AND SULPHUR . Animal No. Rabbit F. Rabbit G. Rabbit H. Rabbit I. Sheep 49206. Sheep 37511. Weight in Kg. 2·55 2·2 2·35 2·5 6-tooth 50 Kg. Full-mouth. 51 Kg. 1'Al3LE III ( cont£nued) . Quantity of Capex administered per stomach tube. 10 c.c. of diluted Capex. 30 c.c. of diluted Capex. 60 c.c. of diluted Capex. 120 c.c. of diluted Capex. 1,000 c.c. of diluted Capex. 3,000 c.c. of diluted Capex. Result. Apart from transient loss of appetite the animal developed no symptoms of ill-health. Symptoms of pronounced dyspnoea and accelerated heart-beat set in within a few minutes and death occurred within !-hour after dosing with symptoms and post mortem appearances as in B. Death occurred within 4 hours after drenching with symptoms and post mortem appearances as des-cribed in rabbit B. Result similar to that in rabbit H, death occurring within 8 minutes. Symptoms of pronounced dyspnoea set in within 4 1 minutes ; a few minutes later the animal staggered about as if intoxicated ; pronounced acceleration of heart action ; about 6 hours after drenching the animal showed considerable improvement, there being only slight laboured respiration and apathy; when chased it soon became exhausted. In spite of this improvement the animal died during the night about 18 hours after drenching. P.M. appearances : Pronounced odour of sulphu-retted hydrogen from the nostrils ; pronounced general cyanosis; blood of a fairly dirty-brown colour; subepicardial, subendocardial and intra-myocardial haemorrhages ; pronounced hyper-aemia and slight oedema of the lungs ; extensive haemorrhage into the subperitoneal, peritracheal and perioesophageal tissues and into the inter-costal muscles ; pronounced fatty degeneration of t he liver ; gastrointestinal contents dark in colour and contains a large amount of precipitated sul-phur; haemorrhages in duodenal mucosa. Very pronounced dyspnoea within 2 minutes; the animal staggered and fell down and was uncon-scious within twenty minutes after drenching ; there were cyanosis and tremors of the superficial muscles of the body ; respiration was accelerated and superficial ; the heart beat was weak and slow (70 p.m .), eventually it became very irregular and stopped 25 minutes after drenching. The respiration ceased about 2 minutes before the heart-beat. P.M. appearances: Pronounced general cyanosis; blood of an intense dirty-brown colour with delayed coagulation time; numerous subepicardia l hae-morrhages ; hyperamia of the liver and lungs ; dilation of both heart ventricles ; large quantity of sulphur precipitat ed in the rumen, reticulum and small intestine with pronounced odour of H"S ; hyperaemia of abomasal mucosa of duodenum, jejunum and anterior portion of the ileum, with petechiae; hyperaemia of caecal mucosa. *Containing 1· 5 per cent. of polysulphide sulphur. 252 D. G. STEYX AND P . )1. llEI\KER. It thus appears that the m.l.d. of the undiluted dipping-fluid for the rabbit is approximately 1·5 c.c. per Kg. of body-weight. Of the diluted fluid (dipping-strength) the m .l.d. for rabbits is approxi-mately 7 · 5 c.c. per Kg. of body-weight and approximately 800 to 1,000 c.c. for a full-grown sheep weighing approximately 40 to 50 Kg. If drawn ink the lung:> (choking) sulphur dipping-fluids are extremely poisonous. According to comparative tests condu cte(l upon rabbits it appeared that the following- sulphur dipping-fluids (dipping-strength concentrations) posse:-;s the same 1legree of toxicity as the Capex Lime Sulphur Dip:-(1) Tarzan Lime Sulphur Dip ;* manufactured by Cape Chemical Company, Limited, Capetown. 'l'hiosulphate ( + tetrathionate) = 0 ·17 per cent. [CaSx(X = 4 · 39) J. It contains 05 ·46 per cent. of polysulphide sulphur; and (2) Nelson's Sodium Polysulphide Dip* 1Ka2 Sx(X = 4·27)]. It contains 46 · 91 per cent. of polysulphide sulphur. In all three these dip pi ~ .5-fiuids ( dip::--ing-strength concen-tration) the percentage of polysulphi(le sulphur is l· 5. TABLE IY. S1rl]Jhtt1' Detenninations made ttpon the Blood of Sheep 37511 and 49206. Sheep No. 37511 49206 Date of Bleeding. 25.6.37 29.6. 37- (a) before dosing ............... . (b) 10- 15 mins. after dosing 3litres of Capex Lime Sulphur Dip.t (c) Hea.rt-blood collected ± I t hours after death .. 25·6·37 ................. . ............. . 29.6. 37- (a) before dosing ...... . . . ...... . (b) 20 mins. after dosing l litre of Capex Lime Sulphur Dipt. (c) Death occurred during the fol-lowing night and heart blood was collected the following morning. Total sulphur in mg. per l 00 c. c. blood. 85·1'5} 83 . 77 done in duplicate 67·30 75·54 98·88 95·45 63·87 65·24 93·40 t Analysis of Capex Lime Sulphur Dip used in dosing the sheep :-(1) l · 5 per cent. of polysulphide sulphur; (2) 0· 24 per cent. of t hiosulphate (including tetrathionate sulphur). *All the fig ures quoted her e are t hose obtained with the s pecimens employed in our experiments. 253 . TOXJ.CTTY. OF DIPPING l'LUIDS CONTAINIJ\'G ARSENIC AJ\'D SULPHUR. The two sheep were bled on the 25.6 .37 and again a few hours before dosing on 29.6.37 in o1der to determine the normal value for total sulphur in the blood. l<'rom the above table it is evident that the values obtained on the 25.6.37 were m.uch higher than those of the 29.6.37 prior to dosing. 'l'he values for both sheep, however, showed an agreement on the same day, namely 85 ·15 and 95 · 45 on the 25.6.37 and 67·30 and 63·87 mg. sulphur per 100 c.c. blood on the 29.6.37 respectively. All the determinations were made in the same manner using the method of Stockholm and Koch (Jour . A mer. Chern. Soc., Vol. 45, 1923, p. 1953). Equal quantities of the same reagents were used in every case and in addition duplicate blank determinations, which differed only in the fourth decimal place, were made. It will be noticed that in the Cdse of both sheep there was a pronounced increase in the sulphur values of the specimens of blood collected a few minutes before dosing and those collected after dosing . There was, however, not such a marked difference in these values of specimens of blood collected a few days before dosing and those collected after death. It is a lso evident that the blood sulphur values increased at a more rapid rate in the sheep which had received the larger dose of Capex. It is fully realised that the number of sheep in the experiment and the number of determina-tions made upon the blood sulphur are very limited and that it would be futile to attempt to clraK any definite conclusions . vV e did expect to find a fairly pro;nounced sulphaemoglo-binaemia. Spectroscopic examination of the blood of the sheep however did not reveal it. 'l'his does not necessarily mean that no sulphaemoglobin was present as it may have been present in inde-tectable quantities. Experiments in vitro yielded interesting results. Normal blood , which showed the haemoglobin bands spectroscopically, showed the broad band of reduced haemoglobin after addition of a small quantity o£ Capex Lime Sulphur Dip . Upon ;;haking this mixture up with air the oxy-haemoglobin bands reappeared and after standing for a while the oxy-haemoglobin was again r educed by the sulphur dip. If a small quantity o£ Capex dip was added to normal blood and left standing for a while both the sulpha emoglobin band and the broad band o£ reduced haemoglobin could be clearly seen. SUMMARY. 1. Experiments to cletermine the toxic closes of some clipping-fluids containing arsenic and sulphur are described. 2. It appears that in all the more common forms of arsenical preparations, which are soluble in water , the m.l.d. for rabbits can be calculated on the basis of approximately 0 · 014 gm. of As2 0 3 per Kg. of body-weight. Sheep, cattle and horses are more RuPceptihle than rabbits to arsenic. 254 J). G. S TEY:\ .\:\lJ 1'. ~1. l !E J\ 1\EH . 8. The 11i.l .d . of cliluterl (dip11ing-str engt h con centration ) C<l JI CX Lime ~ u lphu r Di11 for rabb ib i ~ <lppro:--:im<1t ely I · :) <".1·. pPr Kg. of bo cl y - l~"<'igh t and for sheep <lpprox imHt ely J :} to 20 c.r·. pt>t Kg . of 1Jo rl y -\\·P ight . -±. 1 n rl ipp iHg- ~tre n gth 1·on CE' Jd r<ltion 'l'<l n~an T,iJlH' Sulp hur ] )jp n nd ::\ .;•l so n ';; So il inm l'oly ;; ulp h i1le D ip po"~ess <~pproxim ately t h e s:u ll e rl t>gTE'e of toxicit.1· a -; f'np e:; T,iJJJ P Sulphur D ip. 'J'H I ~IL I~H . . -\ . (1912). Expe rinwn ts to det e nnin e tiH• safe• dosp of \\·hit<· arseni c, Coo per 's Dip :1nd blncstoll(' fo r sh0ep. S01dh :!fr . . I (11 ·i,·. J o111·. , Y o l. 3 , nn 2, PI' · 32J-3:3l . 

The toxicity of some dipping fluids containing arsenic and sulphur

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The toxicity of some dipping fluids containing arsenic and sulphur

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