Investigation of Possible Antidotal Effects of Activated Charcoal, Sodium Bicarbonate, Hydrogen Peroxide and Potassium Permanganate in Zinc Phosphide Poisoning

Abstract

Zinc phosphide, a commonly used rat poison in Kenya was mixed with maize flour
in a concentration of 0.15 %, wlw and fed to a group of 60 experimental mice for 3
hours. The mice were tlien randomly divided into 5 equal groups, A, B, C, D and E.
To group A, B, C and D was administered 1 ml of activated charcoal (3 % w/v),
sodium bicarbonate (10 % w/v), hydrogen peroxide (0.5 % v/v) and potassium
permanganate (1:5000), respectively. Group E was given 1 ml distilled water and
used as control. All five groups were observed for symptoms of toxicity, often
culminating in death. The observations were continued over a period of 36 hours.
Results of the experiment showed that all 4 test substances minimized the lethal
effect of zinc phosphide. Although no attempt was made to quantify the antidotal
effect of the 4 substances, activated charcoal appeared to have a higher effect than
the others, while potassium permanganate had a low rating.