Toxicological interactions

The toxic effects caused by two or more foreign compounds acting on the body simultaneously or one after another. Since multiple chemicals usually coexist in the environment, the synergistic effect of toxins is an important topic in environmental toxicology. Studying the combined effects of toxins is important for assessing the impact of environmental toxins on the body, as well as for establishing acceptable limits for harmful substances in the environment. The combined effects of toxins mainly manifest in various types such as additive effects, synergistic effects, antagonistic effects, and irrelevant effects. The mechanism of toxicological interactions may involve physicochemical interactions between chemicals, affecting absorption, protein binding, biotransformation, or excretion processes. Generally, methods such as calculating the median lethal dose (concentration) of mixtures and equivalent dose mapping are used to evaluate the combined effect of toxins. The types of toxicological interactions can vary depending on the indicators used for observation; therefore, experimental results should not be generalized arbitrarily.