Figure 1

Serum estradiol levels of untreated and arsenic treated female Sprague Dawley rats. Rats were exposed to different doses of sodium meta-arsenite for different time periods, as mentioned in the Methods section. (a) Arsenic has a dose-dependent inhibitory effect on circulating estradiol levels. The dose at which maximum reduction is observed is 4 μg/ml, beyond which the level does not change significantly. Each value represented as mean ± SE, n = 3, p < 0.05. (b) The minimum time period required to initiate the maximum decrease in estradiol levels is 28 days. No further reduction is observed even when rats were exposed to arsenic for 56 days. Each value represented as mean ± SE, n = 3, p < 0.05.