Metanil Yellow (MY) Impairs Heart Ventricular Function by Promoting Cholinergic and Nitrergic Signalling Pathways

Metanil yellow (MY), being a synthetic commercial azo dye, is not approved to be used as a food colour.Despite being non-permitted, it is still used as a food adulterant in unorganized food manufacturing and processing sectors.As a consequence, human exposure to this hazardous chemical occurs through the consumption of MY-contaminated food items resulting in the entry of MY into blood and finally to the heart via systemic circulation.Though the chemical is known for its potentiality to induce toxicity in several organ systems in animal models, its impact on mammalian heart has not been thoroughly reported till date.Therefore, this study has been designed to evaluate the effects of MY on structural and functional aspects of heart ventricular muscle in rat model in vivo.Exposure to MY has been found to significantly (p<0.001)decrease acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity; significantly (p<0.001) increase nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity; and concentrations of cytosolic and mitochondrial nitrite in heart ventricular muscle.Moreover, MY exposure has also been found to induce morphological alterations in heart ventricular muscle.So, from the results, it can be postulated that MY suppresses heart ventricular function in rats by compromising the structural integrity and organization of ventricular muscle.These detrimental effects seem to be mediated by changes in the activities of AChE and NOS enzymes, as well as alterations in nitrite concentration within the ventricular muscle and mitochondria.