Evaluation of Cytogenetic Effects of -Cyfluthrin in Swiss Albino Mice

Worldwide application of pesticides is increasing continually to the extent that they have become an integral part of the ecosystem. Approximately 5.6 billion pounds of active pesticide ingredients are used annually throughout the world (USEPA, 2001). Post market surveillance has revealed that as many as 25 million agricultural workers worldwide experience unintentional pesticide poisoning each year (Alavanja et al., 2004). It has been reported that pesticides available in the market may cause cancer in humans (Alavanja et al., 2004; 2005; Bonner et al., 2005; Beane-Freeman et al., 2006; Hou et al., 2006; Van et al., 2008). Zahm and Ward (1998) showed that childhood cancers such as leukemia, neuroblastoma, Wilms tumor, soft tissue sarcoma, Ewing s sarcoma, non-Hodgkin s lymphoma and cancers of brain and testes are linked to pesticide exposure. Synthetic pyrethroids are the most widely used pesticides and comprise approximately 25% of worldwide insecticide market (Casida and Quistad, 1998). Human exposure to pyrethroids is well documented (Heudorf and Angerer 2001; Schettgen et al., 2002) ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 2 Number 6 (2013) pp. 30-40 http://www.ijcmas.com