Effect of Exposure to Petroleum Fumes on Plasma Antioxidant Defense System in Petrol Attendants

Several studies have reported toxicological implications of inhalational exposure to petrol fumes in animal models; however, there is little or no documentation on the probable effect of exposure in human subjects. This study investigated the relationship between exposure to petrol fumes and lipid peroxidation and antioxidant levels among petrol station attendants in Ibadan, South-West Nigeria A total of 150 subjects consisting of 100 petrol attendants and 50 control subjects were recruited. Ten mL of blood was collected from ante-cubital vein of subjects for analysis. Results reveal that exposure to petrol fumes is associated with oxidative stress. Significant (p<0.001) elevation of malondialdehyde was associated with marked decreases in superoxide dismutase (p<0.01), catalase (p<0.001) and glutathione (p<0.05) when compared with the control. Chain breaking antioxidant vitamins results include significant (p<0.05) decreases in vitamin E and no significant difference in vitamin C (p>0.05) when compared with control. Also there was a significant decrease in total protein (p<0.05) but no significant difference in albumin (p>0.05) in petrol attendants compared with the control. Our findings imply that exposure to petroleum fumes is a risk factor and is associated with oxidative stress which raises the need for public awareness about the health hazards in order to enable petrol attendants to take necessary precautionary measures.