Mediterr. J. Otol 2008; 4:(2)
Alper Tunga Derin, Ozlem Kose, Narin Derin, Feyza Savcioglu, Gulay Hacioglu, Hasan U. Ozcaglar, Bulent V. Agirdir, Kenan Guney, Piraye Yargicoglu, Aysel Agar
Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Akdeniz University Hospital, Antalya, Turkey. atderin@akdeniz.edu.tr
Objective: Sulfites are commonly used as preservatives in the foods and pharmaceutical products. Despite their worldwide use, increasing evidence suggests their toxicity on several organs and tissues. Yet, we do not know whether sulfites have toxic effects on the auditory system (tract). Therefore, we aimed to investigate the probable hazardous effects of sulfite on hearing function of rats.
Material and method: 40 male Wistar albino rats were divided into four equal groups: 1- Control (C) 2- Sulfite treated (S) 3- Vitamin E treated (E) 4- Vitamin E + Sulfite treated (ES). Auditory Brainstem Response data were collected from all of the groups at the beginning of the study as baseline and at the end of 8 week after the experimental period ended.
Results: Sulfite treatment created a significant elevation on hearing thresholds, wave latencies (except for Wave I. absolute latency) and interpeak interval of rats. Further, these ototoxic effects of sulfite could significantly be prevented by vitamin E administration.
Conclusion: These findings designated a preponderance of toxicity in the auditory neural pathways with a probable mechanism of free radical production. To our knowledge, this is the first study in the literature demonstrating the toxic effects of sulfites on hearing function of rats.