Acute and Sub-chronic Toxicity of Condensate Produced From Olive Mill Wastewater Using Solar Energy in Mice

Olive mill wastewater (OMW) is one of the environmental challenges associated with the olive oil industry. This study was carried out to investigate the potential acute and sub-chronic toxicity of oral treatment of OMW condensate in mice. Different doses (250, 500, 1000, 2000, 4000, 8000 mg/kg) were applied once to investigate acute toxicity. Sub-chronic toxicity was investigated using thirty mice; two groups with (500, 4000 mg/kg/body weight) doses along with one control group. Acute toxicity study results showed that the LD50 was greater than the highest tested dose with no signs of systemic toxicity, mortality, or behavioral changes. In addition, the sub-chronic investigation did not show significant changes in behavior, body weight, and vital organs weight/body weight ratio along with no observed differences in the studied hematological parameters. Condensate dose of 500 mg/kg did not show significant differences in the levels of blood urea nitrogen (BUN), alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase (AST). However, the AST serum level was significantly decreased and the serum level of BUN was increased at the dose of 4000 mg/kg. Results suggest that single and repeated oral doses of olive condensate administered orally are safe in mice.