Alpha Cypermethrin Case Study

ABSTRACT: Alpha-cypermethrin (a-CYP) is one of the most widely used insecticides. It may become an air pollutant and adversely affect the health. The present study was designed to determine whether treatment with N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), a well-known antioxidant, can be useful for the management of the deleterious effects of a-CYP on lung tissues. For this purpose, thirty two male rats were divided into four different groups (eight rats for each). Group (I) gavaged with corn oil (control group), group (II) gavaged daily with NAC (150 mg kg21 body weight), group (III) gavaged with a-CYP (14.5 mg kg21 body weight/ day, dissolved in corn oil), group (IV) gavaged with NAC then with a-CYP 2 h later for 12 weeks. a-CYP significantly increased serum
Pyrethroid insecticides have been used in agricultural and home preparations for >30 years and account for about 25% of the worldwide insecticide market (Wolansky et al., 2006). They are preferred over organophosphates and carbamates due to their high efficacy against a wide variety of insects, low mammalian toxicity and easy biodegradability. Cypermethrin
(CYP), a synthetic pyrethroid, is largely used for such purposes as it has a wide safety margin in mammals (Khan et al., 2009). The technical grade CYP is a racemic mixture of eight isomers (four cis and four trans isomers). Two stereoisomers are termed alpha-isomer of CYP, which is believed to be the most active isomer, and is known as a-CYP which is extensively used as an ectoparasiticide in animals, and as insecticides in crop production and public health program (Manna et al., 2004). Despite a wide margin of safety, a-CYP is not free from side-effects; hence toxicity of a-CYP in farm animals can occur through spray/dipping or ingestion or through the ingestion of sprayed crops.
Alpha-CYP not only produces toxicity in animals but also suppresses their cell-mediated as well as humoral immunity (Luty et al., 2000). Side-effects of a-CYP on male reproductive functions are so many (Song et al.,
2008). Mutagenic risk, mutagenic activity inducing dominant lethal mutations in male germ cells, embryonic resorption fetal mortality and chromosomal aberrations are the other side-effects reported (Shukla and Taneja, 2002;
Giri et al., 2003). Population exposed to CYP for several days presented several respiratory symptoms after exposure such as dyspnea, wheezing, cough, fever, interstitial and eosinophilic pneumonia accompanied with blood eosinophilia
(Garcia et al., 2009). The pathological effect of
CYP on lung of pigeons was presented by hypertrophy and emphysema (Suzan, 2012).
N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) is a small molecule containing a thiol group. It was first introduced as a mucolytic drug in the 1960s. NAC has been found to have an antioxidant effect, acting as a free-radical scavenging agent and a precursor of reduced glutathione (GSH). These effects provide the organism with crucial defense mechanism towards