Assessment of hematological, biochemical effects and genotoxicity among pesticide sprayers in grape garden

BACKGROUND Many studies revealed toxic effects of pesticides on pesticide handlers but very fewer studies have been reported among grape garden pesticide sprayers in India. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of pesticides among grape garden sprayers. METHODS 27 pesticide sprayers in study group and 27 non sprayers in control group were recruited. Blood samples were analyzed for hematological profile, biochemical parameters and urine samples for oxidative stress, buccal mucosal cells for genotoxicity. For statistical analysis student's t-test and Mann Whitney U test were used. RESULTS White blood cell (WBC) count was significantly decreased; uric acid and Malondialdehyde (MDA) level was significantly increased among study group. In present study the Micronucleus (MN) assay for buccal mucosal cell showed significant number of micronucleated cells in study group. CONCLUSION These results suggest that pesticide sprayers in grape garden are under risk which need to be monitored continuously in large population and further study is warranted to correlate the pesticide exposure by assessing acetylcholinesterase activity, pesticide residue analysis and their personal habits.