Melamine’s Harmful Effects on Human Health
Melamine is an organic base chemical that occurs commonly as white crystals and contains nitrogen. In the manufacturing industry, melamine is combined with formaldehyde in order to create resin. It is then used to manufacture various products used in day to day life, including white boards, dishes, plastic items, countertops, adhesives and others. As such, concerns have been raised about increased exposure to melamine. It is said to be harmful if inhaled, absorbed or swallowed. Excessive exposure to melamine may also lead to eye and respiratory diseases, reproductive issues and even cancer. Not just human beings, even animals are affected by melamine. The following essay takes into account the harmful impacts of melamine on the health of human beings and animals.
According to Gabriels et al., (2015), the presence of melamine in dietary supplements and products used in day to day lives has posed a serious threat to the health of human beings. In early 2000s, several babies who consumed milk powder fell ill due to exposure to melamine. This was because the milk formulas had been contaminated by the addition of melamine compounds (Wang et al., 2013). In China, and other regions of the world, milk formulas and other food products are adulterated to increase volume. For example, in many cases, water is added to milk to increase its quantity. The purpose of milk powder is to provide essential nutrients to a baby. It was thus assumed that addition of melamine would enhance the quantity of proteins in the baby milk powder. This raised global concerns about the addition of such contaminants in the food products manufactured and sold across the world. Melamine, in the human body, is quickly transmitted through the bloodstream, affecting every organ along the way. It gets deposited in the kidney, where it is immune from the process of metabolism. Since mammalian cells are incapable of metabolizing melamine, they are excreted by the kidney, resulting in renal toxicity (Rai, Banerjee & Bhattacharya, 2014). As a matter of fact, deposition of excess melamine in the kidney can lead to lesions, which could potentially be life threatening in the long run. Consequently, melamine may also lead to occlusion of renal tubules, which may eventually lead to renal failure (Zheng et al., 2013). In addition, melamine is not compatible with the crystals that occur naturally within the human body. On reacting with these chemicals, which include uric acid, melamine would lead to development of kidney stones. Renal inflammation, due to administration of melamine is also common. Such inflammatory responses can lead to a loss in nephrons, fibrosis and ultimately chronic renal failure (Chu & Wang, 2013). Additionally, since the melamine compounds are not broken down, they directly affect the urinary bladder as well. It can lead to urothelial hyperplasia, which is characterized by an alarming growth of epithelial cells and is a progressive kind of lesion. In simple terms, the crystals formed as a result of melamine would block the passage of urine in the body. If untreated, this could even lead to death.
Melamine’s Harmful Effects on Animal Health
Melamine has several carcinogenic effects on the human body as well. Chronic interstitial fibrosis is another long term effect of melamine. This is a kind of aggressive fibrosis or scarring in the interstitium, which would adversely affect the respiratory system. Increased levels of melamine have also been found to affect the reproductive systems of both men and women. In other words, melamine could lead to male sterility or female infertility. When melamine enters the bloodstream of a woman, it impairs the capability of the egg to fertilize, during the period of in vitro fertilization (Li et al., 2015). Fertilization involves a series of complicated steps, where compounds like ovastacin affect the sperm binding capabilities of the egg. Melamine not only inhibits the production of ovastacin but also affects the zona pellucida, which is responsible for binding the sperm post fertilization. As a result, melamine affects the ability of a female to conceive. As far as pediatric health is concerned, melamine can prove to be fatal in some circumstances. The harmful impacts of melamine in children would include increased mortality rates, formation of urinary stones and renal damage. This is often known as melamine – related urinary stones. Infants are at a greater risk for such damage because such baby formulas form their staple diet, whereas older children who consume more variety of food products would demonstrate a lower level of melamine content in their blood. Melamine does not have very high levels of toxicity. However, prolonged exposure to melamine could lead to irritation in the urinary tracts, obstruction, uremia and in rare cases, urinary tract cancer. Nevertheless, mild forms of melamine toxicity in human beings can easily be treated. Based on the severity of the condition, the treatment could range from infusion of required fluids to urine alkalinization. Peritoneal dialysis or correction of the electrolyte balance in the body may also be recommended. In some extreme cases, surgery might be required.
However, Dorne et al., (2013) argue that melamine does not just affect human beings, but also animals. Similarly, Phromkunthong et al., (2013) have also supported this claim and analyzed the impacts of melamine on fish, especially tilapia. According to research, high levels of melamine in water could inhibit the growth responses in fish and also increase mortality. Melamine could affect pigs, dogs, sheep, rats, fish, and cats, apart from human beings. In animals, especially dogs, melamine would affect both the reproductive and urinary systems. For instance, melamine has been identified as one of the leading causes of sterility in male mice (Yin et al., 2013). In dog food that is rich in wheat gluten, melamine is often used as an ingredient. Since melanin contains nitrogen, it is often added to dog food to enhance the quantity of protein. As a matter of fact, wheat gluten is nothing but wheat flour that has been contaminated with melamine. In dogs and canines, long term exposure to melamine would lead to formation of odd crystals. Melamine in dogs would react with cyanuric acid, which is present naturally in their bodies, to form these crystals which could cause kidney failure. The combination of these two compounds could lead to the development of lethal nephrotoxins, which could end up being fatal. Consumption of melamine could lead to urothelial hyperplasia, irritation in the urothelium or even urinary bladder neoplasia (Bandele et al., 2013). One of the major symptoms of melamine toxicity in dogs and cats would be crystalluria, where the urine appears to be cloudy on account of high levels of crystals, which are also known as struvite crystals. Some other symptoms of melamine induced kidney failure in animals would include blood in urine, increased output of urine, increased intake of fluids, hunched posture and so on.
Performance of Urinary and Gene Expression Biomarkers
To conclude, it can be said that melamine has harmful effects on both human beings and animals. In both cases, however, the harmful effects are somewhat similar. For example, exposure to melamine would lead to urinary tract infections, urinary tract cancer, formation of crystalluria, infertility and even cancer. This is primarily because mammals and most animals lack the enzymes required to metabolize melamine. As a result, they are passed out in their original form from the kidney itself. This could result in formation of kidney stones in both humans and animals. In the reproductive system of humans and animals, melamine would affect the capability of the female to conceive, by getting in the way of fertilization. The harmful effects of melamine have been identified and studied only recently, after hundreds of babies in China fell ill on consumption of contaminated milk powder.
References:
Bandele, O., Camacho, L., Ferguson, M., Reimschuessel, R., Stine, C., Black, T., … & Sprando, R. (2013). Performance of urinary and gene expression biomarkers in detecting the nephrotoxic effects of melamine and cyanuric acid following diverse scenarios of co-exposure. Food and chemical toxicology, 51, 106-113.
Chu, C. Y., & Wang, C. C. (2013). Toxicity of melamine: the public health concern. Journal of Environmental Science and Health, Part C, 31(4), 342-386.
Dorne, J. L., Doerge, D. R., Vandenbroeck, M., Fink-Gremmels, J., Mennes, W., Knutsen, H. K., … & Benford, D. (2013). Recent advances in the risk assessment of melamine and cyanuric acid in animal feed. Toxicology and applied pharmacology, 270(3), 218-229.
Gabriels, Gary, Mike Lambert, Pete Smith, Lubbe Wiesner, and Donavon Hiss. “Melamine contamination in nutritional supplements-Is it an alarm bell for the general consumer, athletes, and ‘Weekend Warriors’?.” Nutrition journal 14, no. 1 (2015): 69.
Li, X., Lu, J., Shang, P., Bao, J., & Yue, Z. (2015). The selective NADPH oxidase inhibitor apocynin has potential prophylactic effects on melamine-related nephrolithiasis in vitro and in vivo. Molecular and cellular biochemistry, 399(1-2), 167-178.
Phromkunthong, W., Nuntapong, N., Boonyaratpalin, M., & Kiron, V. (2013). Toxicity of melamine, an adulterant in fish feeds: experimental assessment of its effects on tilapia. Journal of fish diseases, 36(6), 555-568.
Rai, N., Banerjee, D., & Bhattacharyya, R. (2014). Urinary melamine: proposed parameter of melamine adulteration of food. Nutrition, 30(4), 380-385.
Wang, P. X., Li, H. T., Zhang, L., & Liu, J. M. (2013). The clinical profile and prognosis of Chinese children with melamine-induced kidney disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BioMed research international, 2013.
Yin, R. H., Wang, X. Z., Bai, W. L., Wu, C. D., Yin, R. L., Li, C., … & He, J. B. (2013). The reproductive toxicity of melamine in the absence and presence of cyanuric acid in male mice. Research in veterinary science, 94(3), 618-627.
Zheng, X., Zhao, A., Xie, G., Chi, Y., Zhao, L., Li, H., … & Su, M. (2013). Melamine-induced renal toxicity is mediated by the gut microbiota. Science translational medicine, 5(172), 172ra22-172ra22.
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