Pesticides induced oxidative stress in mammalian systems

Contents For over last two decades, the toxicological research has focused on pesticide-induced oxidative stress (OS) as a possible mechanism of toxicity. In fact OS is an outcome of a multistep process spanning from perturbations in the balance between the levels of oxidants / prooxidants and antioxidants (both enzymatic and non-enzymatic) to tissue damage leading to onset of several disease states and finally to apoptosis. The mechanism(s) of pesticides induced oxidative stress, however, is still not completely understood. Further, several other factors (called as risk factors) are thought to be associated with potentiation of the impact of pesticides induced oxidative stress in living systems and hence play crucial role in the evaluation of safety or toxicity of the pesticide concerned. In recent years several attempts have been made to understand pesticide induced OS in terms of monitoring alterations in various biochemical and molecular compositions in different organs of some experimental animal models by exposing them to varying acute and sub-acute doses of pesticides. It is important therefore to explore some plant products or drugs, which could help mitigate the adverse effects of reactive oxygen species (ROS) including free radicals (FR) produced due to pesticides exposure. This review presents an updated account of reported cellular and molecular events taking place in mammalian systems due to pesticide induced OS, factors influencing its toxicity, and its amelioration through application of various antioxidants.