The health hazards of individual organophosphorus insecticides have been characterized by their acute toxicity, mainly by investigating their cholinesterase inhibition. However, the chronic effects of most of these toxicants on the drug-metabolizing enzymes have not been investigated. Profenofos (O-4-bromo-2-chlorophenyl O-ethyl S-propyl phosphorothioate) is an organophosphorus pesticide widely...

OBJECTIVE To determine the DNA damaging potential and the genotoxicity of individual compounds in pesticide contaminated soil. METHODS In the present study, DNA damaging potential of pesticide-contaminated soil and the genotoxicity of individual compounds present in the soil were assessed using fluorimetric analysis of DNA unwinding assay. RESULTS The contaminated soil sample showed 79% (P ...

Activity of a few biomarkers have been investigated on freshwater fish Channa punctatus treated with monocrotophos for acute exposure to 18.56 ppm at 96 hr and subacute exposure viz. 0.46 ppm, 0.96 ppm and 1.86 ppm for 30 days. Biomarkers such as total protein, lipid peroxidation and acetylcholinesterase have been measured in different tissues of fish viz. gills, liver, brain and muscles. The p...

Several epidemiological studies link pesticide exposure to reproductive and developmental toxicity. However, additional studies have shown little or no evidence to support such relationship. On the other hand, experimental data show that some pesticides may indeed alter the reproductive function or produce birth defects (as evidenced by intrauterine death, in utero growth retardation, visceral ...

Pesticides are essential agrochemicals used to protect plants from diseases, pests and weeds. However, the formulation defects of conventional pesticides cause food toxicity and ecological environmental problems. In this study, a novel, efficient and environmentally friendly formulation of lambda-cyhalothrin, a solid nanodispersion, was successfully developed based on melt-emulsification and hi...

Acrolein is an aquatic herbicide used in the western United States to prevent impaired water flow in irrigation canals. Despite its toxicity, few cases of acrolein-related illness have been reported in the literature. On August 15, 2012, an irrigation district notified the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) of acrolein-related illness in one of its pesticide applicators. L&...

Cyanobacteria contribute significantly to the maintenance of flooded rice field fertility. In this investigation, the protective effect of osmolytes and antioxidative enzymes was studied on the paddy field cyanobacterial biofertilizer; Anabaena variabilis exposed to Malathion pesticide. With increasing concentration of malathion the test organism showed increased free radical mediated toxicity....

According to The Pesticide Manual, more than 700 pesticides are currently approved for use around the world [1]. About 600 more were used in the past, but are either banned or no longer marketed. In spite of their discontinuance, some of these still persist in the environment where they may bioaccumulate in the flora and fauna. Many pesticides or their degradation products can be found at trace...

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are uniquely vulnerable to nontarget pesticide impacts because, as ubiquitous managed pollinators, they are deliberately transported into areas where crops are grown with pesticides. Moreover, attributes making them excellent managed pollinators, including large long-lived colonies and complex behavior, also make them challenging subjects for toxicity bioassays. For ...

Background Farmers in developing countries use highly toxic organophosphate pesticides. Thus, the aim of this study was to compare plasma cholinesterase (PChE) enzyme activity before and after exposure to organophosphate pesticides in a real-life setting. Methods This was a prospective study conducted on 25 farmers spraying organophosphate pesticide in their farm. The PChE level was measured ...