Combined Actions and Interactions of Chemicals in Mixtures. The Toxicological Effects of Exposure to Mixtures of Industrial and Environmental Chemicals

摘要

Combined action and interactions between chemicals, e.g. medicines administered to humans at high doses have been known for many years in the field of pharmacology. However, these experiences are not directly useful for predicting toxic effects of mixtures of environmental chemicals because the exposure levels of the general human population are relatively low and interactions occurring at high doses may not be representative for low-dose exposures. The expectation is that relatively low exposures will result in less interactions when they are primarily caused by various thresholds and saturation phenomenons, for instance with respect to the metabolism of chemical substances (enzymatic detoxification/activation) in the organism. This report summarises the basic concepts in combined action and interaction of chemicals in mixtures and discuss various approaches that have been suggested for use in testing and risk assessment of such mixtures. A number of targeted toxicological studies on simple, well-defined mixtures are discussed and the current knowledge of combined actions of chemicals in different effect areas are reviewed.