| Abstract: | Melamine was once used as a non-protein nitrogen(NPN)source for cattle,and unethically added to food productions in order to increase the apparent protein content.In this study,the cytotoxicological impact of melamine was determined using a unicellular eukaryote bioassay model,the ciliated protozoan Tetrahymena pyriformis(T.pyriformis).The results showed a concentration-dependent inhibitory effect of melamine on the cell proliferation rate of T.pyriformis populations,and the IC50 value was estimated to be 0.78g·L-1.Deformed cells were also observed.Our experiment demonstrated that T.pyriformis bioassay,with advantages such as less time-consuming,lower cost and simpler operations,provides a good alternative in vitro method to animal experiments for the risk assessment of potentially toxic substances. |
