HOW DOES HORMESIS RELATE TO THE MIXTURE TOXICOLOGY?
Hormesis principally deals with biological performance— that is, the response of biological systems below the toxic threshold. Above the toxic threshold, the shape of the dose response is similar for the threshold and hormetic dose–response models. A number of studies have explored chemical interactions within a hormetic framework. In most cases, chemical interactions such as synergy and potentiation have been reported. Responses were within the modest increase limits of the hormetic stimulatory response. In other words, whether or not synergy existed, the maximum stimulation was 30 to 60% greater than the control response range. To achieve such modest increases, the dosage of a drug/chemical can be markedly reduced if synergy or potentiation occurs within a hormetic context. The hormetic type of synergy therefore has far less to do with the magnitude of the response than with the amount of drug/chemical to achieve this hormetic maximum. This has been reported with respect to memory [8
