Summary
Longer exposure to pesticides has harmful health effects and oxidative stress. Due to the production of free radicals and alteration in antioxidant defense enzymes Pesticides cause oxidative stress. Comet assay was used for the evaluation of DNA alterations. Solutions were freshly prepared in the laboratory and fresh blood of pesticide exposed and unexposed individuals were taken to make slides. DNA breakage was significantly higher in occupational pesticide workers. With the increase age and the exposure time DNA breakage increased. The study was done to evaluate the harmful impacts of pesticide on exposed workers.100 exposed and 100 unexposed individuals with the clinical abnormalities were sampled in and around the District Bahawalpur. The percentage of clinical abnormalities throat infection, nasal allergy, skin allergy, eye irritation, uric acid, muscle infection, respiratory infection, hepatitis, restlessness, backbone and chest tightness was remarkably greaterin the pesticide exposed individuals as compared to non-exposed individuals with same clinical abnormalities. The hematological parameters hemoglobin, WBC, RBCs, Hematocrit Test, MCV, MCH, MCHC, Lymphocytes, Neutophils were remarkably decreased. Mixed cell count and monocytes were significantly increased. In serum profile, Glucose level was remarkably decreased in exposed workers. Urea, Creatinin, Bilirubin, ALT, Alk Phospahtase, Very low density Lipoprotein, Cholesterol and Triglycrides were remarkably greater in exposed workers. HDL-C, LDL-C, Creatine Phosphokinase and Serum minerals were remarkably reduced in exposed workers as compared to unexposed workers. Hence from all these outcomes it is proved that pesticide cause oxidative stress by decreasing enzymes activity, hematogical abnormalities, Serological abnormalities and genetic abnormalities in pesticide workers.
INTRODUCTION
Pests are the organisms that have harmful effects on human beings. Pesticides are applied to destroy or stop pests, fungi, herbs, insects, rodents and ticks (Marrs and Ballantyne, 2004). Two million tons of pesticide constituents are applied annually (De et al., 2014). Pesticides are extensively used for improvement in the production of crops to reduce injurious pests and herbs (Damalas, 2009).
Pakistan is characterized by wide climatic diversity, which offers great opportunities for growing a variety of vegetable crops in regional markets to meet demand across the country throughout the year (Tahir and Altaf, 2013). Vegetable production in the country is well diversified in terms of a range of species grown (Ahmad et al., 2005). More than thirty-five types of vegetables are grown in Pakistan from low to high elevation areas in rain fed to irrigated land and low to high input systems. Tomato, eggplant, potato, cucumber, gourds and okra are grown in large quantities in summer and spring. By using different technologies vegetables are grown in different zones in different season (Maaliket al., 2013). In Pakistan there are no rules and regulations to control of pesticide and other harmful substances and their residues.Farmers when handling pesticides and doing spray activities do not follow any safety measures in this way many harmful residues accumulate within their body.There is no official training on insecticide use in Pakistan. Workers apply insecticides without safety measures due to lack of effective legislation and lack of knowledge of potential hazards due to dangerous chemicals and their side effects (Latifet al., 2012).
On a daily basis, Humans contact with their environments are reveal to synthesized chemicals present in the food they eat, in the air they breathe, the water they drink. In the rural areas huge amount of pesticides have been released from the agricultural work out to control the agricultural herbs, insect, pests, plant pathogens and weeds in both developed and developing countries. Pesticides are complex mixtures which contain active component and different other constituent for example additives, emulsifying agents and solvent (Hayes, 1991). Furthermore, many agricultural implementations of insecticide that various formulations and combinations are applied on the time of the growing season (Mossaet al., 2012).
Natural and man-made insecticides are widely applied in agriculture for the controlling pests. Pesticides have harmful effects on living organism and increasing pollution of the environment. There are experimental evidencesthat exposure to pesticides increase the risk of different health ailments in human beings as well as different type of cancer (Kimet al., 2017).Exposure to pesticides cause oxidative stress by greater construction of free radicals that can increase in the cell and damage biological macromolecules like DNA, RNA, DNA repair proteins (Abdollahi, 2004 ;Mostafalou and Abdollahi, 2013) including detoxification and scavenger enzymes or change antioxidant defense mechanisms (Possamaiet al., 2007; Hernandezet al., 2013).
Genotoxic biomonitoring of population showed that chemical mutagens are a warning system for genetic ailments. Occupational submission to pesticides has been concerned with an increase risk of various type of carcinomas such as Alzheimer’s disease (Gauthieret al., 2001) Hodgkin’s lymphoma (Orsiet al., 2009), non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (Orsiet al., 2009; Bertrandet al., 2010), multiple lymphoma (Bariset al., 2004), colon andbladder cancer (Koutroset al., 2009), gall bladder sarcoma (Shuklaet al., 2001), Leukemia (Bonneret al., 2010), lung cancer (Beane Freemanet al., 2005), pancreatic cancer (Andreottiet al., 2009), Parkinson’s ailment (Jenner, 2001) and reproductive abnormalities (Arbuckle et al., 2001).
Populations exposed to different xenobiotics (Faustet al., 2004). Farmers are not applying any safety measures during dealing with pesticide and its correct quantity like pre yield intervals, like the time of pesticide apply and cutting of the pesticide applied crops (Latifet al., 2011). Therefore observing pesticides produced by the country’s authorities and imposing strategy based on satisfactory limits (Syedet al., 2014). Farmers are exposed to higher level of pesticide which is highly greater than customers (Damalas and Koutroubas, 2016).
But pesticides cause harsh intimidation because they are toxic substances and have harmful effecton the environment (Damalas and Eleftherohorinos, 2011). Pesticide can accumulate into the body of the human by ingestion, inhalation and through skin contact (Damalas and Koutroubas, 2016). Farmers’ have no information about application of these toxic substances therefore they don’t apply any safety measures during handling these pesticides and the unawareness of potential health risks often results due to direct contact with insecticides (Arafaet al., 2013; Khan and Damalas, 2015). In recent years the demand of crop yield in Pakistan increased quickly due to native feeding. Different types of pesticides are used for the better growth and protection of crops throughout the country. Insecticides are extensively used to destroy the harmful insects. There arefive types of acaricides, 39 types of herbicides, 108 types of insecticides, 30 types of fungicides and six types of rodenticides are registered in Pakistan (Ziaet al., 2009; Anwaret al., 2011).
Agricultural workers also exposed to pesticide when they are working in the field which is not related to pesticide apply (Coronado et al., 2004; Quandt et al., 2004; Bradmanet al., 2009). Epidemiological studies suggested that larger exposure to pesticides have harmful impacts on organisms such as endocrine, cancer at different sites ,neurologic, respiratory ,and reproductive disorders an understandable linkage have to be accepted (McCauley et al.,2006); Ntzaniet al., 2013 .The contaminated properties of insecticideshave harmful impacts on human health. In occupational pesticide exposed workers respiratory symptoms like airway inflammation, coughing, wheezing, are commonly noted (Malley, 1997). Epidemiological studies have suggested that there is an association between the insecticides submitted workers and respiratory ailments, like asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer (Hoppin et al., 2007; Hoppin et al., 2009)
The single cell gel electrophoresis is a rapid and perceptive technique for the finding of DNA damage at the level of individual eukaryotic cell and is received as a sign of the effect (Collins, 2004). The comet assay is a rapid method for the observation of DNA alterations (Pandeyet al., 2005). Genetic dissimilarity may cause genotoxicity in genes programming enzymes associated with xenobiotic metabolism and DNA repair (Wonget al., 2008).Alkaline comet assay shows single or double DNA strand breaks for the observation of DNA harm. Alkali-labile sites are applied for biomonitoring in populace exposed to different xenobiotics (Faustet al., 2004). Workload on occupational employers is usually higher than 8 hour per day, 6 days in a week in tropical countries and India due to the occurrence of vector borne diseases such as Dangue, Chickengunya and Malaria. The occupational workers that are connected with the pesticide application for a larger time its residues accumulated in the body of workers and cause genotoxic hazard.Reports on genotoxicity in papulation exposed to single or combination of pesticide from India is in sufficient (Rita et al., 1987; Rupaet al., 1991; Padmavathiet al., 2000).
In this study the blood samples were taken from the farmers from different areas in district Bahawalpur. We have also taken information from the pesticide exposed individuals through survey reports and blood samples of pesticides exposed individuals and non exposed individuals was taken for hematology and serum profile. The outcomes of this research will be usefulfor the private sector and government to handle the problems of widely insecticide application in this region.
Objectives
- To determine the clinical abnormalities in pesticides exposed farmers
- To investigate the hematological abnormalities and oxidative stress in pesticides exposed workers
- To examine the effect of pesticide on serum profile
- To examine the DNA breakage through comet assay in pesticide exposed workers