Pharmacology and toxicology of carbon tetrachloride in the sheep. II. The anthelmintic and toxic effects of carbon tetrachloride given by intramuscular or intraruminal injection

Abstract

Merino wethers infected with Fasciola hepatica were given pure carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄), either by intramuscular (IM) injection at dose rates of 1, 2, 4, and 8 ml or by intraruminal (IR) injection at dose rates of 1, 2, and 4 ml.

Blood samples were taken before and at intervals after dosing, and plasma glutamic oxalacetic transaminase (GOT) and isocitric dehydrogenase (ICD) activities were used for quantitative indications of liver damage.

Plasma GOT and ICD activities after IR administration were approximately twice as high as those recorded after IM injection of an equal dose of CCl₄, and peak values in the IR groups tended to occur earlier. Plasma glucose and lactic acid levels, and histological examination of liver tissues, also indicated differences in hepatotoxic or general toxicity effects.

With the exception of 1 ml IM, all dose levels of CCl₄ by both routes of administration were effective in removing mature Fasciola hepatica from the experimental sheep.