Pathology of Endosulfan

Endosulfan (6,7,8,9,10,10-hexachloro-1,5,5a,6,9,9a-hexahydro6,9-methano-2,4,3-benzo-odioxa-thiepin-3-oxide) is a chlorinated cyclodiene insecticide which acts as a contact poison in a wide variety of insects and mites (Naqvi and Vaishnavi, 1993). Endosulfan was first registered for use in the USA in 1954 to control agricultural insects and mite pests. Due to its toxic effect, the World Health Organization (WHO) has classified Endosulfan as a moderately hazardous Class II pesticide (WHO, 2002). Endosulfan is a persistent organic pollutant. The half-life of endosulfan in water varies from 3 to 7 days to about 5 months, depending on the dissolved oxygen, turbidity, pH and other contaminants in the water. This insecticide is a mixture of two stereoisomers, namely ┙and ┚endosulfan (Hayes and Laws, 1991), in a ratio of 7:3. It has been used worldwide in agriculture, viticulture and horticulture (Hack et al., 1995; Oktay et al., 2003; Mor and Ozmen, 2003; Yavuz et al., 2007). Endosulfan can cause toxic effects in almost all tissues of both humans and animals, including the liver, lung, central nervous system, genital system, pancreas etc. (Howard, 1991, Mor and Ozmen, 2003; Kalender et al., 2004b; Hatipoglu et al., 2009). It is also effect blood biochemistry and hematological values (Hatipoglu et al., 2009). Endosulfan is a contact hepatotoxin that is readily absorbed into an organism through its stomach, lung and even through the skin (Howard, 1991). The primary purpose of this chapter is to provide pathological findings in endosulfan toxicity in animals and human. It contains descriptions and evaluations of pathological studies about endosulfan. Gross and histopathological lesions are described in different kind of animals and human in experimental and natural toxication cases.