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Toxic effects of organophosphate pesticide monocrotophos in aquatic organisms: A review of challenges, regulations and future perspectives
Abstract
In recent times, usage of pesticide, herbicides and synthetic fertilizers in farming lands has made the environment worse. The pesticide residues and toxic byproducts from agricultural lands were found to contaminate the aquatic ecosystem. The misuse of synthetic pesticide not only affects the environment, but also affects the health status of aquatic organisms. The organophosphate pesticide pollutants are emerging contaminants, which threatens the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem. Monocrotophos (MCP) is an organophosphate insecticide, utilized on crops including rice, maize, sugarcane, cotton, soybeans, groundnuts and vegetables. MCP is hydrophilic in nature and their solubilizing properties reduce the soil sorption which leads to groundwater contamination. The half-life period of MCP is 17–96 and the half-life period of technical grade MCP is 2500 days if held stable at 38 °C in a container. MCP causes mild to severe confusion, anxiety, hyper-salivation, convulsion and respiratory distress in mammals as well as aquatic animals. The MCP induced toxicity including survival rate, behavioural changes, reproductive toxicity and genotoxicity in different aquatic species have been discussed in this review. Furthermore, the ultimate aim of this review is to highlight the international regulations, future perspectives and challenges involved in using the MCP.
... Field application dose of monocrotophos is 0.25-1.5 kg/ ha and the half-life is approximately 17-96 days in environment (Kaur and Goyal., 2019). It is reported that monocrotophos showed its half-life around 2500 days in 38º C in closed environment (Rajan et al., 2023). Several studies have revealed toxic potential of monocrotophos in non-target organisms. ...
Current study investigated the chronic effect of monocrotophos exposure, a globally used pesticide on 3rd instar larvae and pupae of fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Study commenced with the investigation of chronic median lethal concentration (LC50) which was found as 0.68 µg/mL for 3rd instar larvae and 0.56 µg/mL for pupae. Accordingly five sub-lethal concentrations such as 0.2, 0.25, 0.3, 0.35 and 0.4 µg/mL were selected for experimental set up. Treated larvae manifested altered feeding habit, changed life cycle duration and reduced body weight and length in both larval and pupal stage. Interestingly alteration in sex-ratio and gender biased population was encountered after exposure to monocrotophos. Since D. melanogaster shares significant molecular and physiological homologies with higher vertebrates, hence the present findings could be alarming for other non-targeted organisms who are getting direct or indirect chronic exposure to this chemical.
... The imbalance between the production and elimination of free radicals induced by BF exposure may be responsible for this disorder (Fatima et al., 2007;Karthick et al., 2024;Wang et al., 2021b). The excess ROS inhibits the activity of SOD, CAT and GSH (Lushchak, 2011;Zhang et al., 2020a), leading to a decrease in their levels in CGS larvae. ...
Bifenthrin (BF) is a broad-spectrum insecticide that has gained widespread use due to its high effectiveness. However, there is limited research on the potential toxic effects of bifenthrin pollution on amphibians. This study aimed to investigate the 50 % lethal concentration (LC50) and safety concentration of Chinese giant salamanders (CGS) exposed to BF (at 0, 6.25,12.5,25 and 50 μg/L BF) for 96 h. Subsequently, CGS were exposed to BF (at 0, 0.04, and 4 μg/L BF) for one week to investigate its toxic effects. Clinical poisoning symptoms, liver pathology, oxidative stress factors, DNA damage, and transcriptome differences were observed and analyzed. The results indicate that exposure to BF at 4 μg/L significantly decreased the adenosine-triphosphate (ATP), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione (GSH), and catalase (CAT) contents in the brain, liver, and kidney of CGS. Addi- tionally, the study found that the malondialdehyde (MDA), reactive oxygen species (ROS), and 8-hydroxydeox- yguanosine (8-OHdG) contents were increased. The liver tissue exhibited significant inflammatory reactions and structural malformations. RNA-seq analysis of the liver showed that BF caused abnormal antioxidant indices of CGS. This affected molecular function genes such as catalytic activity, ATP-dependent activity, metabolic processes, signaling and immune system processes, behavior, and detoxification, which were significantly upregulated, resulting in the differential genes significantly enriched in the calcium signaling pathway, PPARα signaling pathway and NF-kB signaling pathway. The results suggest that BF induces the abnormal production of free radicals, which overwhelms the body’s self-defense system, leading to varying degrees of oxidative stress. This can result in oxidative damage, DNA damage, abnormal lipid metabolism, autoimmune diseases, clinical poisoning symptoms, and tissue inflammation. This work provides a theoretical basis for the rational application of bifenthrin and environmental risk assessment, as well as scientific guidance for the conservation of amphibian populations.
... us, increasing the susceptibility of cells to reactive oxidative intermediate attacks and alters membrane integrity, fatty acid compositions, antioxidant status, and cellular dysregulation. [15,16,19,[21][22][23][24][25][26][27] Under physiological conditions, ROS are cleared from the cells by the actions antioxidant enzymessuperoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), thiols, or GSH. [28][29][30] Fortunately, under normal physiological conditions, the balance between free radical generation in tissues and endogenous antioxidants enzymes' activities prevents oxidative stress from building up. ...
Objectives:
Information is lacking on the consequences of chronic exposure to emerging contaminants at environmentally relevant (trace concentrations) on biomolecules. Environmental exposure to these chemical mixtures happens at trace concentrations and at multiple molecular interactions. The consequences of trace concentrations of multiple pesticides (MPs) on the regulation of selected biomolecules nitric oxide (NO), thiols, superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione S-transferase (GST) in the tissues from wild type (WT) and genetically deficient- peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha (PPARα) knockout (Null) mice were investigated.
Material and Methods:
Mice were exposed to trace concentrations of MPs: Atrazine, dieldrin, endrin, endosulfan, and anthracene (1–100 ng/L) in drinking water for 6 weeks. Organs were collected and homogenized; NO, protein and non-protein thiol levels, as well as SOD and GST activities were determined.
Results:
Differential and organ selective effects of the treatments were observed in the WT and PPARα knockout. Increased NO levels were observed in the organs from WT with limited increase in the kidney (Null). SOD activity was decreased in the organs from the WT and was increased in the PPARα knockout when compared to the control. Thiol level was significantly increased in the heart and spleen in the WT and in the heart of the PPARα knockout mice when compared to the control. Non-protein thiol concentration was reduced in the heart and kidney (WT) and reduced in the liver of the PPARα knockout when compared to the control. GST activity was significantly decreased in the liver and spleen (WT) and was significantly elevated in all organs in the PPARα knockout mice when compared to the WT.
Conclusion:
The low concentrations of MPs may have caused selective dysregulation of biomolecules in different organs of the body. These effects observed may be influenced by genetic status such as in PPARα deficiency. These results present a scenario that implicates nanoconcentrations of series of organic contaminants that can cause cellular and molecular dysregulations of biomolecules precipitating toxicity and pathology that can be a threat to human health. Further, investigation into the molecular mechanism(s) and signaling pathway(s) implicated in these dysregulations is warranted.
Rampant use of fertilizers and pesticides for boosting agricultural crop productivity has proven detrimental impact on land, water, and air quality globally. Although fertilizers and pesticides ensure greater food security, their unscientific management negatively impacts soil fertility, structure of soil microbiome and ultimately human health and hygiene. Pesticides exert varying impacts on soil properties and microbial community functions, contingent on factors such as their chemical structure, mode of action, toxicity, and dose-response characteristics. The diversity of bacterial responses to different pesticides presents a valuable opportunity for pesticide remediation. In this context, OMICS technologies are currently under development, and notable advancements in gene editing, including CRISPR technologies, have facilitated bacterial engineering, opening promising avenues for reducing toxicity and enhancing biological remediation. This paper provides a holistic overview of pesticide dynamics, with a specific focus on organophosphate, organochlorine, and pyrethroids. It covers their occurrence, activity, and potential mitigation strategies, with an emphasis on the microbial degradation route. Subsequently, the pesticide degradation pathways, associated genes and regulatory mechanisms, associated OMICS approaches in soil microbes with a special emphasis on CRISPR/Cas9 are also being discussed. Here, we analyze key environmental factors that significantly impact pesticide degradation mechanisms and underscore the urgency of developing alternative strategies to diminish our reliance on synthetic chemicals.
In this study, current pesticide use was determined on the basis of active substances (ASs) in each water body in the Marmara Basin, which is the most crowded region of Türkiye and where agriculture is intensive. The risks of detected pesticide ASs were then categorized in terms of usage amount, water body monitoring results, and hazardous characteristics. At the same time, a system was proposed for determining pesticide use on an AS basis, based on the product planted in districts that do not have detailed information on AS use. Finally, a methodology for assessing pesticide pressure on water bodies was developed by utilizing pesticide risk based on the determined AS types under data scarcity conditions. The topic undertaken is current and extremely important in the era of food safety, and is related to growing pressure on water, on one hand, and human health and quality of food products, on the other. Data based on ASs are hard to record and store, particularly in developing countries; therefore, a data inventory was initially realized in the study as an essential step towards an assessment procedure. The easy-to-use pesticide pressure determination methodology was developed and applied to the Marmara Basin of Türkiye, ensuring compliance with the Water framework Directive (WFD) and EU Green Deal. Constraints experienced during the application of the developed methodology are put forth with the intention of providing utilizable information to those international scientists who will be interested in practicing it in the future. Therefore, transposition of the methodology to other basins in different countries will be possible. According to 2021 data, 0.04–8.83 kg/ha pesticide and 173 pesticide active substances were used in the basin. ASs were prioritized over four criteria based on the amount of use, hazardous properties, and monitoring results. Consequently, 52 active substances were determined and included in the risk group. Taking these criteria into consideration, all the 276 agricultural water bodies in the basin were revealed to be under pesticide pressure.
The use of pesticides to control pests, weeds, and diseases or to regulate plant growth is indispensable in agricultural production. However, the excessive use of these chemicals has led to significant concern about their potential negative impacts on health and the environment. Phosmet is one such pesticide that is commonly used on plants and animals against cold moth, aphids, mites, suckers, and fruit flies. Here, we investigated the effects of phosmet on a model organism, Daphnia magna using acute and chronic toxicity endpoints such as lethality, mobility, genotoxicity, reproduction, and gene expression. We performed survival experiments in six-well plates at seven different concentrations (0.01, 0.1, 1, 10, 25, 50, 100 μM) as well as the control in three replicates. We observed statistically significant mortality rates at 25 µM and above upon 24 h of exposure, and at 1 µM and above following 48 h of exposure. Genotoxicity analysis, reproduction assay and qPCR analysis were carried out at concentrations of 0.01 and 0.1 μM phosmet as these concentrations did not show any lethality. Comet assay showed that exposure to phosmet resulted in significant DNA damage in the cells. Interestingly, 0.1 μM phosmet produced more offspring per adult compared to the control group indicating a hormetic response. Gene expression profiles demonstrated several genes involved in different physiological pathways, including oxidative stress, detoxification, immune system, hypoxia and iron homeostasis. Taken together, our results indicate that phosmet has negative effects on Daphnia magna in a dose- and time-dependent manner and could also induce lethal and physiological toxicities to other aquatic organisms.
Monocrotophos is an organophosphorous insecticide widely used in the field of agriculture. The aim of the study is to prove the impact of the monocrotophos in relation to the alteration in cholesterol content in the muscle of the male and female Penaeus monodon. The prawns were exposed to lower (0.002ppm) and higher (0.003ppm) sub lethal concentration of monocrotophos for the experimental periods 5, 10 and 15 days. The muscle tissues were taken for the analysis of cholesterol content. The current study proves that monocrotophos causes imbalances in the cholesterol content in the muscle of male and female Penaeus monodon.
This study characterized the acute toxicity of Monocrotophos on histological alterations in the different organs like gills, Hepatopancreas and ovary of Anomuran Crab, Emerita asiatica. Though Emerita asiatica is not a commercially viable crab, but it plays a vital role in the coastal environment to maintain a stable marine ecosystem. Several steps and precautions measures should be taken to consume these members of the marine food chain to have aunwavering ecosystem and also to protect this species from extinction. Thus, it can be concluded that the use of Monocrotophos which has been legally banned in India is justified. It has been proved by several workers and has been conformed in present investigation that use of this organophosphate causes serious damage to the vital organ of sand crabs gill, hepatopancreas and ovary. The utilization of Monocrotophos should be minimized in the agricultural field area near to the coastal ecosystem.
Pesticides are well known for their high levels of persistence and ubiquity in the environment, and because of their capacity to bioaccumulate and disrupt the food chain, they pose a risk to animals and humans. With a focus on organophosphate and triazine pesticides, the present review aims to describe the current state of knowledge regarding spatial distribution, bioaccumulation, and mode of action of frequently used pesticides. We discuss the processes by which pesticides and their active residues are accumulated and bioconcentrated in fish, as well as the toxic mechanisms involved, including biological redox activity, immunotoxicity, neuroendocrine disorders, and cytotoxicity, which is manifested in oxidative stress, lysosomal and mitochondrial damage, inflammation, and apoptosis/autophagy. We also explore potential research strategies to close the gaps in our understanding of the toxicity and environmental risk assessment of organophosphate and triazine pesticides.
A study was conducted to evaluate the impact of acute sub-lethal toxicity of monocrotophos on
behavioural, biochemical, haematological and histopathological changes in Heteropneustes fossilis
(49.53±0.71 g). Probit analysis showed the 96 h LC50 of monocrotophos for H. fossilis was 20 ppm.
Followed by the LC50 value, sub-lethal concentrations for acute exposure of monocrotophos were 3
ppm in T1, 6 ppm in T2 and 8 ppm in T3 for 72 h of the experimental period. The behavioural responses
observed in treated fish were: erratic movement, imbalance in swimming, surfacing, and hyperactivities.
A gradual reduction in total RBC count, haemoglobin, monocyte, and basophil contents were observed
with an increased concentration of monocrotophos. On other hand, the total WBC count, neutrophil,
basophil and blood ESR showed reversed trend (p<0.05). Total tissue protein content of gill, liver
and kidney was altered and decreased significantly (p<0.05) in monocrotophos-treated fish. Tissue
lipid peroxidation (LPO) and catalase activities in gill, liver and kidney were also altered after 24 h,
72 h and followed an increasing trend in exposed fish which differed significantly (p<0.05) from the
control group. Compared to the control, significant changes were observed in the histopathological
architecture of blood cells and gill tissue. The overall result showed that exposure to monocrotophos
severely affects fish behaviour and physiology. Therefore the misuse of the chemical may be avoided
to reduce the negative impact on aquatic animals.
(Key words: Catfish, Hematology, Histology, Monocrotophos, Oxidative stress, Toxicity)
Pesticides play an important role in agricultural development. However, pesticide application can result in both acute and chronic human toxicities, and the adverse effects of pesticides on the environment and human health remain a serious problem. There is therefore a need to discuss the application methods for pesticides, the routes of pesticide exposure, and the health risks posed by pesticide application. The health problems related to pesticide application and exposure in developing countries are of particular concern. The purpose of this paper is to provide scientific information for policymakers in order to allow the development of proper pesticide application technics and methods to minimize pesticide exposure and the adverse health effects on both applicators and communities. Studies indicate that there are four main pesticide application methods, including hydraulic spraying, backpack spraying, basal trunk spraying, and aerial spraying. Pesticide application methods are mainly selected by considering the habits of target pests, the characteristics of target sites, and the properties of pesticides. Humans are directly exposed to pesticides in occupational, agricultural, and household activities and are indirectly exposed to pesticides via environmental media, including air, water, soil, and food. Human exposure to pesticides occurs mainly through dermal, oral, and respiratory routes. People who are directly and/or indirectly exposed to pesticides may contract acute toxicity effects and chronic diseases. Although no segment of the general population is completely protected against exposure to pesticides and their potentially serious health effects, a disproportionate burden is shouldered by people in developing countries. Both deterministic and probabilistic human health risk assessments have their advantages and disadvantages and both types of methods should be comprehensively implemented in research on exposure and human health risk assessment. Equipment for appropriate pesticide application is important for application efficiency to minimize the loss of spray solution as well as reduce pesticide residuals in the environment and adverse human health effects due to over-spraying and residues. Policymakers should implement various useful measures, such as integrated pest management (IPM) laws that prohibit the use of pesticides with high risks and the development of a national implementation plan (NIP) to reduce the adverse effects of pesticides on the environment and on human health
Growing human population and industrialization have led to the pollution of most aquatic ecosystems and consequent deterioration in environmental water quality. Indicator organisms are needed to improve assessment programmes on the ecological impacts of anthropogenic activities on the aquatic environment. Fish have been widely documented as useful indicators of environmental water quality because of their differential sensitivity to pollution. This study discussed the roles of fishes as bioindicators as uses as biological indicators. The comprehensive knowledge of taxonomy, habitat requirements, and physiology of fish is a key prerequisite of using fish as indicators. No other aquatic organism is suitable for the application of so many different methods which allow the evaluation of the severity of toxic impacts by determining the accumulation of toxicants in tissues, by using histological and haematological approaches or by detecting morphological anomalies. Due to its complex habitat requirements the fish fauna is a crucial indicator of the ecological integrity of aquatic systems at different scales, from microhabitat to catchment. Thus bioindication using fish represents a good monitoring tool especially with regard to both pollution aspects and to river engineering, e.g. river restoration and management. In order to further strengthen the role of fish as valuable indicators of the ecological integrity of aquatic systems, research is required ranging from the ecological demands of certain target species to ecosystem processes. There is need to broaden knowledge in aquatic environmental impact assessment by the use of fish as a bioindicator to assess aquatic environment. This study recommends the use of fish as valuable biological indicators in aquatic environmental pollution assessment.
The impact of two organophosphorus insecticides [Chlorpyrifos (CPF) and Monocrotophos (MCP)] on non-target wild natural gastropod, Pila globosa (apple snail) from the paddy fields was studied. The activity of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) was monitored on foot-muscle and hepatopancreas tissues of control and exposed snails. In the foot-muscle AChE inhibition progressed and reached 54.19% and 63.13% of the control, whereas, the AChE inhibition in the hepatopancreas reached 46.96% and 53.67% over control after 48 hours of exposure to 1.5 mL.L-1 and 2.5 mL.L-1 CPF respectively. After 48 hours of MCP exposure at 1.5 mL.L-1 and 2.5 mL.L-1 separately, the AChE inhibition of foot muscle was 49.07% and 57.59% respectively while in hepatopancreas it was 44.65% and 48.84% respectively. Our results show more inhibition of AChE activities on the foot-muscle than hepatopancreas in a concentration and time-dependent manner with greater severity by CPF in comparison to MCP. AChE inhibition increased with the increasing exposure time.
Insecticides are enormously important to industry requirements and market demands in agriculture. Despite their usefulness, these insecticides can pose a dangerous risk to the safety of food, environment and all living things through various mechanisms of action. Concern about the environmental impact of repeated use of insecticides has prompted many researchers to develop rapid, economical, uncomplicated and user-friendly analytical method for the detection of insecticides. In this regards, optical sensors are considered as favorable methods for insecticides analysis because of their special features including rapid detection time, low cost, easy to use and high selectivity and sensitivity. In this review, current progresses of incorporation between recognition elements and optical sensors for insecticide detection are discussed and evaluated well, by categorizing it based on insecticide chemical classes, including the range of detection and limit of detection. Additionally, this review aims to provide powerful insights to researchers for the future development of optical sensors in the detection of insecticides.
Monocrotophos (MCP) is a highly toxic and broad-spectrum pesticide extensively used for agricultural and household purposes. The present study was aimed to evaluate the genotoxicity and alterations in the biochemical and physiological conditions induced by monocrotophos in a non-target organism, an estuarine bivalve, Donax incarnatus. The bivalves were exposed to three sub-lethal concentrations (6.8, 13.7, and 27.45 ppm) of MCP for a period of 72 h. DNA damage was assessed using the comet assay. Oxidative stress was analyzed using catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase. Neurotoxicity was evaluated using the acetylcholinesterase assay (AChE) and the physiological condition was assessed using the condition index (CI). A significant concentration-dependent increase of DNA damage was observed as well as a decline in the activities of the antioxidant enzymes. However, a decrease in DNA damage was observed with advancing time. A significant decrease of AChE activity and CI was observed in the bivalves exposed to MCP. Positive correlations were also observed between DNA damage and the antioxidant enzymes whereas negative correlations were observed between AChE and the antioxidant enzymes indicating MCP toxicity mediated by oxidative stress.
Inoculants or biofertilizers aiming to partially or fully replace chemical fertilizers are becoming increasingly important in agriculture, as there is a global perception of the need to increase sustainability. In this review, we discuss some important results of inoculation of a variety of crops with rhizobia and other plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB). Important improvements in the quality of the inoculants and on the release of new strains and formulations have been achieved. However, agriculture will continue to demand chemical pesticides, and their low compatibility with inoculants, especially when applied to seeds, represents a major limitation to the success of inoculation. The differences in the compatibility between pesticides and inoculants depend on their active principle, formulation, time of application, and period of contact with living microorganisms; however, in general they have a high impact on cell survival and metabolism, affecting the microbial contribution to plant growth. New strategies to solve the incompatibility between pesticides and inoculants are needed, as those that have been proposed to date are still very modest in terms of demand.
Monocrotophos (MCP) is an organophosphate insecticide with broad application in agricultural crops like rice, maize, sugarcane, cotton, soybeans, groundnut and vegetables. MCP solubilize in water readily and thus reduced sorption occurs in soil. This leads to MCP leaching into the groundwater and pose a significant threat of contamination. The MCP's half-life depends on the temperature and pH value and estimated as 17-96 d. But the half-life of technical grade MCP can exceed up to 2500 days if properly stored at 38 °C in a glass or polyethylene container in a stable condition. It causes abnormality, ranging from mild to severe confusion, agitation, hypersalivation, convulsion, pulmonary failure, senescence in mammals and insects. MCP affects humans by inhibiting the activity of the acetylcholine esterase enzyme. MCP is accountable for the catalytic degradation of acetylcholine and affects the neurotransmission between neurons. This review discusses MCP's various aspects and fate on aquatic and terrestrial life forms, quantification methods for monitoring, various degradation processes, and their mechanisms. Different case studies related to its impact on the human population in different parts of the world have been discussed. Efforts have also been made to summarize and present different microbial population's role in its degradation and mineralization.
Monocrotophos (MCP) is one of the organophosphate pesticides extensively used in agriculture and animal husbandry. The present study reports the effects of sub‐lethal concentrations of MCP on gonadosomatic index (GSI), gonadal histology and breeding fitness of the fish Anabas testudineus. The fish were exposed to three sub‐lethal concentrations of monocrotophos (T1: 3.5 mg/L, T2: 5.3 mg/L and T3: 10.6 mg/L) for 45 days with 12 fish (males and females in equal numbers) in each tank, and one group was kept as control (C) without any treatment. GSI decreased in all treatment groups in comparison with control. Significant decrease in fertilization and hatching rate was observed at all concentrations in comparison with control on 15, 30 and 45 days of monocrotophos exposure. The decreased vitellogenesis, disruption of follicular wall and oocyte atresia were observed in all the treated females at 30 and 45 days of exposure. Rupture of seminiferous tubules was noticed in all the treated males irrespective of exposure periods. The results thus indicated that monocrotophos could deleteriously impact the gonadal structure and function in A. testudineus, which could seriously impact the reproductive success of the animal.
Background:
Pesticide self-poisoning is a common means of suicide in India. Banning highly hazardous pesticides from agricultural use has been successful in reducing total suicide numbers in several South Asian countries without affecting agricultural output. Here, we describe national and state-level regulation of highly hazardous pesticides and explore how they might relate to suicide rates across India.
Methods:
Information on pesticide regulation was collated from agriculture departments of the central government and all 29 state governments (excluding union territories). National and state-level data on suicides from 1995 to 2015 were obtained from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). We used joinpoint analysis and negative binomial regression to investigate the trends in suicide rates nationally and in Kerala, in view of the robust measures Kerala has taken to restrict a number of HHPs, to identify any effect on suicides.
Results:
As of October 2019, 318 pesticides were registered for use in India, of which 18 were extremely (Class Ia) or highly (Class Ib) hazardous according to World Health Organization toxicity criteria. Despite many highly hazardous pesticides still being available, several bans have been implemented during the period studied. In our quantitative analyses we focused on the permanent bans in Kerala in 2005 (of endosulfan) and 2011 (of 14 other pesticides); and nationally in 2011 (of endosulfan). NCRB data indicate that pesticides were used in 441,918 reported suicides in India from 1995 to 2015, 90.3% of which occurred in 11 of the 29 states. There was statistical evidence of lower than expected rates of pesticide suicides (rate ratio [RR] 0.52, 95% CI 0.49-0.54) and total suicides nationally by 2014 (0.90, 0.87-0.93) after the 2011 endosulfan ban. In Kerala, there was a lower than expected rate of pesticide suicides (0.45, 0.42-0.49), but no change to the already decreasing trend in total suicides (1.02, 1.00-1.05) after the 2011 ban of 14 pesticides. The 2005 ban on endosulfan showed a similar effect - lower than expected pesticide suicides (0.79, 0.64-0.99), but no change to the decreasing trend of total suicides (0.97, 0.93-1.02) in 2010. There was no evidence of a decline in agricultural outputs following the bans.
Conclusion:
Highly hazardous pesticides continue to be used in India and pesticide suicide remains a serious public health problem. However, some pesticide bans do appear to have impacted previous trends in the rates of both pesticide suicides and all suicides. Comprehensive national bans of highly hazardous pesticides could lead to a reduction in suicides across India, in addition to reduced occupational poisoning, with minimal effects on agricultural yield.
Objective
To estimate the prevalence of multimorbidity and complex multimorbidity in rural workers and their association with sociodemographic characteristics, occupational contact with pesticides, lifestyle and clinical condition.
Methods
This is a cross-sectional epidemiological study with 806 farmers from the main agricultural municipality of the state of Espírito Santo/Brazil, conducted from December 2016 to April 2017. Multimorbidity was defined as the presence of two or more chronic diseases in the same individual, while complex multimorbidity was classified as the occurrence of three or more chronic conditions affecting three or more body systems. Socio-demographic data, occupational contact with pesticides, lifestyle data and clinical condition data were collected through a structured questionnaire. Binary logistic regression was conducted to identify risk factors for multimorbidity.
Results
The prevalence of multimorbidity among farmers was 41.5% (n = 328), and complex multimorbidity was 16.7% (n = 132). More than 77% of farmers had at least one chronic illness. Hypertension, dyslipidemia and depression were the most prevalent morbidities. Being 40 years or older (OR 3.33, 95% CI 2.06–5.39), previous medical diagnosis of pesticide poisoning (OR 1.89, 95% CI 1.03–3.44), high waist circumference (OR 2.82, CI 95% 1.98–4.02) and worse health self-assessment (OR 2.10, 95% CI 1.52–2.91) significantly increased the chances of multimorbidity. The same associations were found for the diagnosis of complex multimorbidity.
Conclusion
We identified a high prevalence of multimorbidity and complex multimorbidity among the evaluated farmers. These results were associated with increased age, abdominal fat, pesticide poisoning, and poor or fair health self-assessment. Public policies are necessary to prevent, control and treat this condition in this population.
Since 2010, advances in scientific knowledge and innovative agricultural technology have revitalized urban agriculture (UA) into innovative urban agriculture (IUA). The continuous intensification of IUA could lead to a Second Green Revolution, which aims to meet the current and future food demand. Here, we review the emerging IUA practices and estimate the contribution of IUA to food security and environmental sustainability by limitedly comparing scientific literature and actual data of eighteen practitioners worldwide. The currently most productive IUA practice can produce up to 140 kg vegetables per m2/year. Various scales of IUA potentially contribute to global food security by supporting local food supply, strengthening the food value chain, and applying more sustainable practices than conventional agriculture. Further comprehensive life cycle assessments of IUA are needed, especially in developing countries, to prevent an increase of the environmental burden and to balance the interests of people, planet, and profit.
Monocrotophos, an organophosphate pesticide is used frequently in paddy fields of India. Although its impact of toxicity has been reported in many organisms, its effect on digestive and respiratory organs in Anabas testudineus is scanty. The Present investigation was conducted to evaluate the impact of histopathological and biochemical indices on freshwater fish A.testudineus exposed to sub-lethal concentration (45 ppm) of an organophosphorous pesticide monocrotophos (MT). Severe histoarchitectural and biochemical changes were observed in fishes exposed to monocrotophos when compared to fishes of control group. Exposure of fishes to the pesticide resulted in induction of histological abnormalities in gills, stomach and intestine. This was accompanied with reduction in total protein content and an elevation in catalase activity in gills, stomach and intestine. These structural alterations of the gills, stomach and intestine could affect respiration, digestion and absorption of nutrients which in turn could adversely affect growth and survival of the freshwater fish A. testudineus. The result of this investigation serves as a biomonitoring tool for the effects of organophosphorous pesticide MT on the aquatic biota.
The present study reports the biodegradation studies of Monocrotophos in agricultural soils of Visakhapatnam district. Bacterial strains were isolated from agricultural soils of Visakhapatnam dist. The isolates based on their morphological, biochemical and molecular characteristics were identified as Bacillus aryabhatta Strain ENP 3, Bacillus drentensis strain ENA1, Bacillus firmus Strain EN5C, and Staphylococcus vitulinus Strain EN5F. These four strains were isolated for the first time in this region. The degradation potential of the organisms for Monocrotophos as the only carbon source were studied and also the influence of Cow dung manure and NPK fertilizer on the growth and degradation capacity of organisms were studied. Degradation potential in media for individual organism as well as consortia was studied using spectrophotometric analysis. LC-MS was used to detect the degradation potential of microbial consortia in soil and also know the intermediate metabolites formed during degradation. It was found that the bacterial consortium has the highest degradation potential compared to individual organisms and Bacillus aryabhattai strain ENP3 has higher is degradation potential for Monocrotophos compared to other organisms.
Earthworms are an ideal biological model in toxicity assays and environmental monitoring studies. In the present study, the reproductive toxicity and histopathological effects of Monocrotophos pesticide on an exotic epigeic Eudrilus eugeniae and an indigenous epigeic Perionyx barotensis earthworm were studied. Earthworm species were exposed to different concentrations of pesticide like 450 ppm, 500 ppm, and 650 ppm for 45 days and the mortality rate and reproductive activity was recorded every 15 days of exposure. There was an increase in mortality and abnormal sperm (asthenospermia, necrospermia, and oligospermia) and defective cocoons in earthworms with increasing concentrations of the pesticide. Histopathological changes like rupture of chloragogenous tissue, longitudinal muscle, fused and extra-villous growth and necrotic cell rupture in earthworm’s body wall (epidermis, circular and longitudinal muscles) were observed. Fluorescent probes have detected cell death in pesticide-treated earthworms when compared to the control group after 45 days. The present findings show that Monocrotophos pesticide on exposure to epigeic earthworm species causes significant reproductive toxicity and histopathological abnormalities and these changes could be used as a tool in environmental risk assessment of pesticides.
Abbreviations: DDT: Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane; MCP: Monocrotophos; EPA: Environment Protection Act; SL: Soluble Liquid; C: N (Carbon: Nitrogen); C: P (Carbon: Phosphorus); LC: Lethal Concentration; PBS: Phosphate Buffer Solution; WHO: World Health Organization; H&E: Hematoxylin and Eosin; SV: seminal vesicles; O: ovary; GP: genital papillae; Ch: chloragogenous tissue; EL: epithelial layer; CM: circular muscle; LM: longitudinal muscle; CD: cell debris
Water quality encompasses the water physical, biological and chemical parameters. It generally affects the fish growth and welfare. Thus, the success of a commercial aquaculture project depends on supplying the optimum water quality for prompt fish growth at the minimum cost of resources. Although the aquaculture environment is a complicated system, depending on various water quality variables, only less of them have a critical role. One of those vital parameters is dissolved oxygen (DO) level, which requires continuous oversight in aquaculture systems. On addition, the processes of natural stream refinement require suitable DO levels in order to extend for aerobic life forms. The depletion of DO concentration (called hypoxia) in ponds water causes great stress on fish where DO levels that remains below 1-2 mg/L for a few hours can adversly affect fish growth resulting in fish death. Furthermore, hypoxia has substantial effects on fish physiological and immune responses, making them more susceptible for diseases. Therefore, to avoid disease outbreak in modern aquaculture production systems where fish are intensified and more crowded, increasing attention should be taken into account on DO levels.
The effects of pesticide monocrotophos (organophosphate), on the ovaries of freshwater murrel, Channa punctatus were studied. Exposures for 15 and 45 days with histological preparations at 1 ml L-1 , and 2 ml L-1 sublethal concentrations along with control were examined. Pre spawned 10 fish (47.85±0.75gm; 17.80 ± 0.50cm) were randomly stocked in 50 L aquarium in triplicate groups for each treatment levels. The effects of monocrotophs were analysed after 15 and 45 days of exposure, respectively. The control contained an abundance of the different stages of oocytes (Oocytes I, II, III, and IV) and had an intact ovigerous lamellae and follicular lining. The control also contained a thick and complete ovarian wall with evident previtelline and euvitelline nucleoli. After 15 days of exposure the gonado somatic index (GSI) significantly (P<0.05) decreased in the two exposure concentration, where the maximum decrease in both GSI and ovary was observed at higher concentration i.e. 2 ml L-1 compared with control. Decreased vitellogenesis and oocyte atresia was also observed at higher concentration. While after 45 days of exposure a significant (P<0.05) increase in oocyte atresia and decreased vitellogenises was recorded with clear indication of vacuolization and tissue necrosis. On the basis of the above finding it is concluded that widely used organophosphate monocrotophos in agriculture has produced significant toxic effects on gonodal development of Channa punctatus. .
Abstract Background Organophosphorus insecticides (OPI) are among the most commonly used class of pesticides in agricultural and domestic scenarios. Clinical presentations of acute OPI toxicity are attributable to acetylcholinesterase inhibition and ensuing cholinergic stress. Consequently, acetylcholinesterase reactivators and acetylcholine receptor antagonists are used to treat clinical cases of OPI toxicity. The nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans is emerging as an attractive alternative model for toxicity evaluations. This study was carried out to understand the involvement of acetylcholinesterase inhibition in paralyzing effects of monocrotophos (an OPI) in Caenorhabditis elegans. Results Exposure of C. elegans to monocrotophos was associated with strong toxicity in an acute toxicity test as revealed by LC50 of 35.5 ± 1.2 mM. Sub-lethal concentrations of monocrotophos were found to elicit severe acetylcholinesterase inhibition and paralysis. Co-exposure of worms to pralidoxime was found to rescue worms from the paralyzing effects of monocrotophos along with partial reactivation of acetylcholinesterase activity. Conclusion Our work demonstrates that acetylcholinesterase inhibition is responsible for the paralyzing effects of monocrotophos in Caenorhabditis elegans, and paralysis can be used as an experimental marker of cholinergic acute toxicity of OPI in C. elegans.
The use of organophosphate pesticides (OPs) in agricultural practices in India has gained popularity due to their broad spectrum, low cost and high potency. Monocrotophos (an OP) which is a systemic and contact broad-spectrum cholinesterase inhibitor is being widely used in India. However, its use entails the damage to other non-target organisms such as fish. In the present study, zebrafish (Danio rerio) were exposed to various doses of monocrotophos (0.125, 0.625 and 1.25 μL/L) and genotoxicity studies were carried out employing the comet assay and micronucleus test in the peripheral blood of these fish after 24, 48 and 72 h of exposure. Significant DNA damage in the form of % tail DNA and micronuclei was observed in all the treated fish compared to the control. Both % tail DNA and micronuclei frequency were found to increase significantly as the concentration increased. DNA damage was also observed at all the time intervals for all treatments except in the 0.125 μL/L-treated group. A positive correlation was also observed between the comet assay and micronucleus test. The study thus suggests the use of zebrafish as an experimental model to study the genotoxic effects of agricultural pesticides using the comet assay and micronucleus test.
In the current study, experimental (UV–visible, Fourier transform infrared [FTIR], ¹H-NMR and scanning electron microscope) and computational (UV–visible, FTIR, ¹H-NMR, HOMO–LUMO, steric and geometric parameters) analyses of acephate, glyphosate, monocrotophos and phorate were performed for the first time. Computational studies were performed at the HF/6–311G(d,p) level of theory. It was found that experimental values of UV–visible, FTIR, ¹H-NMR and geometric data were in very good agreement with the computational ones. The current study may assist future studies, like spectral analysis, pesticide(s) detection, surface behaviour and decomposition analysis of top selling titled pesticides of world market.
In present study, the data of pesticide use, crop (the total of cereals, pulses, roots and tubers, oil crops, fibre
crops, fruits, vegetables, and melons, etc.) production and the area harvested of the world and major countries
for the period between 1990 and 2014 were collected, organized and summarized from FAOSTAT. First I
proposed an index to measure the productive efficiency of pesticide use, cost / benefit, which refers to the
amount of pesticide use to produce a certain amount of crop in a year. Theoretical relationship between crop
yield and cost / benefit of pesticide use is a model with the sigmoid curve: y = a + b / (1 + e^(c-rx)), where y is
crop yield, x is cost / benefit of pesticide use. The results showed that global cost / benefit of pesticide use
(total) increased with time during 1990 to 2007, and declined since 2007. Pesticide use (total) (kg / ha) had the
similar trend. Global insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides & bactericides use and cost / benefit declined
with time since 2007. During 2010 and 2014, mean pesticide cost / benefit was 0.645 g pesticide use (total) /
kg crop production, and mean annual pesticide use (total) was 2.784 kg /ha. Mean cost / benefit of insecticides,
herbicides and fungicides & bactericides use between 2010 and 2014 were 0.051, 0.16 and 0.074 g / kg crop
production, respectively, and mean annual use of insecticides, herbicides and fungicides & bactericides were
0.221, 0.69 and 0.32 kg / ha, respectively. Globally, the cost / benefit of dithiocarbamates, bipiridils,
carbamates insecticides, and organo-phosphates, and the use of dithiocarbamates, bipiridils, and carbamates
insecticides have significantly declined since 2007, and conversely, the cost / benefit of triazoles / diazoles and
the use of triazoles / diazoles, plant growth regulators, and amides, have significantly increased since 2007. Of
the major countries, the averaged annual cost / benefit of pesticide use (total) of Brazil during 2010 to 2014
was the greatest (1.883), followed by Japan (1.846), Mexico (1.678), China (1.243), Canada (0.979), USA
(0.8733), France (0.708), Germany (0.673), UK (0.55), and India (0.089). The averaged annual pesticide use
(total) (kg / ha) of Japan during 2010 to 2014 was the greatest (18.94), followed by China (10.45), Mexico
(7.87), Brazil (6.166), Germany (5.123), France (4.859), UK (4.034), USA (3.886), and India (0.261). Profile
of development, production and use of pesticides in China was discussed in detail. Various trends were
analysed and a variety of valuable data were provided.
http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/piaees/articles/2018-8(1)/global-pesticide-use-Profile-trend-cost-benefit.pdf
The bacterial strain Sphingobium sp. YW16, which is capable of degrading monocrotophos, was isolated from paddy soil in China. Strain YW16 could hydrolyze monocrotophos to dimethylphosphate and N-methylacetoacetamide and utilize dimethylphosphate as the sole carbon source but could not utilize N-methylacetoacetamide. Strain YW16 also had the ability to hydrolyze other organophosphate pesticides. A fragment (7067 bp) that included the organophosphorus hydrolase gene, opdA, was acquired from strain YW16 using the shotgun technique combined with SEFA-PCR. Its sequence illustrated that opdA was included in TnopdA, which consisted of a transpose gene, a putative integrase gene, a putative ATP-binding protein gene, and opdA. Additionally, a conjugal transfer protein gene, traI, was located downstream of TnopdA. The juxtaposition of TnopdA with TraI suggests that opdA may be transferred from strain YW16 to other bacteria through conjugation. OpdA was able to hydrolyze a wide range of organophosphate pesticides, with the hydrolysis efficiency decreasing as follows: methyl parathion > fenitrothion > phoxim > dichlorvos > ethyl parathion > trichlorfon > triazophos > chlorpyrifos > monocrotophos > diazinon. This work provides the first report of opdA in the genus Sphingobium.
Organophosphorus pesticides (OPPs) are widely used in agricultural production due to their chemical stability, high efficiency and low cost. It should be emphasized that OPPs can seriously harm aquatic organisms after entering the water environment through leaching and other ways. To this end, this review combines a new method to quantitatively visualize and summarize information on developments in this field to review the latest progress in OPPs toxicity, propose scientific trends and research hotspots. Among all countries, China and the United States have published a large number of articles and played a leading role. Based on the detection of co-occurrence keywords, it is emphasized that "OPPs cause oxidative stress in organisms", which reflects that the main factor of OPPs toxicity is the occurrence of oxidative stress. Researchers also focused on studies involving AchE activity, acute toxicity and mixed toxicity. This reveals that OPPs mainly affect the nervous system, and higher organisms are more resistant to the toxic effects of OPPs than lower organisms due to their strong metabolic capacity. As for the mixed toxicity of OPPs, most OPPs have synergistic toxic effects. Moreover, the analysis of keyword bursts revealed that the study of OPPs on the immune response of aquatic organisms and the effect of temperature on toxicity will become new research trends. In conclusion, this scientometric analysis can provide a scientific basis for improving the aquatic ecological environment and rationally using OPPs.
Histological changes appear as a medium term response to sublethal stressors and histology provides arapid method to detect the effects of irritants, especially chronic ones in various tissues and organs. Pesticidesusage in agricultural fields to control pests is extremely toxic to non-target organisms like fish and affectsfish health through impairment of histological structure, sometimes leading to mortality. The presenthistopathological study reveals the potential adverse effects of monocrotophos, an organophosphatepesticide, on a fresh water fish, Anabas testudineus and it document a dose- dependent reaction of liver andkidney histology. The histological changes observed in liver included fatty-vacuolation and the displacementof nuclei to the periphery of the hepatocytes, congested and constricted liver sinusoids, condensedhepatocytes, destructed hepatocytes and pyknotic nuclei. The major histological alterations identified inthe kidney were melano-macrophage centres, shrunken renal tubules and degenerated renal tubule.Calculation of organ index is used for comparing the severity of lesions in different organs. These organindices are used for calculating total index. In the present study the total index showed the health status offishes in each sublethal concentration âCalculation of organ index is used for comparing the severity oflesions in different organs. These organ indices are used for calculating total index. In the present study thetotal index showed the health status of fishes in each sublethal concentration and the status became worsein the higher sublethal concentrations. â and the status became worse in the higher sublethal concentrations. Histopathology can be used as a tool for assessing the sublethal conditions of water quality and it gives aârapid early warning systemâ.
Insecticide resistance is the development of an ability in a strain of insects to tolerate doses of toxicants which would prove lethal to the majority of individuals in a normal population of the same species. Insecticide resistance is a major obstacle in the control of agriculturally important pests. Types of insecticide resistance include single insecticide resistance, cross-resistance, and multiple resistances. Insecticide resistance can be divided into two major types: behavioral resistance and physiological resistance. The development of insecticide resistance is a dynamic and complex process, depending directly on genetic, physiological, behavioral, biological, and ecological factors of the arthropod pests and depending indirectly on operational factors including categories of insecticides used as well as the application timing, rate, coverage, and method. As many as 1000 species of insect pests have developed resistance to different class of insecticides. Insecticide resistance was observed in several horticultural crop pests namely Plutella xylostella, Helicoverpa armigera, Spodoptera litura, Leucinodes orbonalis, Earias vittella, Tuta absoluta, Maruca vitrata, thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis, Thrips tabaci, Scirtothrips dorsalis, Thrips palmi), aphids (Aphis gossypii, Myzus persicae), Diaphorina citri, whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci, Trialeurodes vaporariorum), Mealybugs(Pseudococcus viburni, Pseudococcus maritimus, Planococcus citri, Planococcus kraunhiae, Pseudococcus citriculus, Maconellicoccus hirsutus, Planococcus ficus, Phenacoccus solenopsis), and the leafhopper (Amrasca biguttula biguttula). Management of insecticide resistance requires a consideration of all aspects of crop production, including agronomic practices, physical and biological control methods, and insect pest biology.
Unintentional poisoning is the most common challenge during the childhood age. Among them organophosphate, the commonly used insecticide is the most common agent related to poisoning in children. Organophosphate poisoning causes up to 25% of mortality worldwide. The present article discusses the case of a 3 year old child with accidental intake of organophosphate revealing the symptoms experienced by the patient and different treatment modalities employed and its outcomes. Also the article suggest the importance of follow up after organophosphate poisoning.
The present study was undertaken to evaluate the toxic effects of monocrotophos, a widely used organophosphorus pesticide, on Lamellidens marginalis with a wide battery of biomarkers consisting of AchE inhibition, lipid peroxidation, the levels of antioxidant enzymes, and histopathological changes. Animals were exposed to monocrotophos (52.36 mg/l) for four days. Malondialdehyde (MDA) values were measured as index of oxidation while Superoxide dismutase (SOD), Catalase (CAT), Glutathione s-Transferase (GST), and Glutathione-Reductase (GR) were measured as index of an antioxidant status. After exposure, a significant reduction of the capability to neutralize radicals was observed. Histopathological changes, such as fibrosis in gill filaments and hypertrophy in mucous cells of foot tissue, were observed after treatment. In a second series of experiment, exposed animals were there after transferred to clean water and kept in it up to 28 days to assess the recovery pattern. Significant recovery is observed in AchE and antioxidant enzymes. Oxidative damage observed after acute exposure indicate that mussels faced an oxidative challenge but were able to counteract, as values of anti-oxidants returned near to control values after 28 days.
Private standards play an increasingly important governance role, yet their effects on state‐led policymaking remain understudied. We examine how the operation of private agricultural standards influences multilateral pesticide governance with a particular focus on the listing of substances under the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade, a treaty‐based information‐sharing mechanism that allows countries to refuse hazardous chemical imports. We find that private agricultural standard‐setting bodies use the Rotterdam Convention's pesticide list to develop their own lists of banned substances. This alters the Rotterdam Convention's intended role, impeding efforts to add substances to the treaty, as attempts by private actors to impose stricter governance than state actors can undermine the potential for international state‐based governance to become more stringent. We characterize this as a “confounding interaction” whereby institutional linkages between actions by public and private actors with broadly aligned goals results in unexpected negative consequences for governance.
Pesticides are an integral part in maintaining agriculture and horticultural productivity and play a vital role in meeting the increasing food, fiber, and fuel needs of the growing population. Globally, organophosphate pesticides (OPPs) are among the most common pesticides used due to their high proficiency and relatively low persistence in the environment. However, recent studies have reported problems due to pesticide use, e.g., phorate contamination of aquatic ecosystems (fresh and groundwater), sediments, fruits and vegetables, and forage crops. This review highlights many cases where phorate has been detected above its respective maximum residue limit values. Organophosphate pesticides, including phorate, have negative impacts on both the environment and human health. The ecological and public health concerns of recurrent pesticide utilization have encouraged the research related to environmental fate of pesticides. Bioremediation is an effective, eco-friendly, and financially viable approach for the decontamination and degradation of toxic OPPs from the environment, compared to the costly, unecological, and time-consuming physicochemical approaches, which lead to the generation of byproducts of higher toxicity. Researchers have recognized that a wide range of microbes, mainly bacteria, can degrade this extremely hazardous pesticide. Therefore, this review discusses the present pesticide scenarios, especially phorate contamination, its toxicity, biodegradation, and metabolic products via bacterial communities, both in India and globally. The latest and up-to-date literatures on the use, contamination, and bacterial application of phorate degradation are also summarized. This article offers national and international food safety organizations and public health authorities the ability to be involved in preventing the risks associated with the use of food and nutrition products contaminated with extremely toxic phorate pesticide. This article would also enable researchers to develop comprehensive and sustainable methods to effectively remediate pesticide-contaminated environments. In conclusion, it is envisaged that the successful application of bacterial communities for degradation of phorate would help in understanding the fate and persistence of such toxic pollutants in a better way.
The high demand for sufficient and safe food, and continuous damage of environment by conventional agriculture are major challenges facing the globe. The necessity of smart alternatives and more sustainable practices in food production is crucial to confront the steady increase in human population and careless depletion of global resources. Nanotechnology implementation in agriculture offers smart delivery systems of nutrients, pesticides, and genetic materials for enhanced soil fertility and protection, along with improved traits for better stress tolerance. Additionally, nano-based sensors are the ideal approach towards precision farming for monitoring all factors that impact on agricultural productivity. Furthermore, nanotechnology can play a significant role in post-harvest food processing and packaging to reduce food contamination and wastage. In this review, nanotechnology applications in the agriculture and food sector are reviewed. Implementations of nanotechnology in agriculture have included nano- remediation of wastewater for land irrigation, nanofertilizers, nanopesticides, and nanosensors, while the beneficial effects of nanomaterials (NMs) in promoting genetic traits, germination, and stress tolerance of plants are discussed. Furthermore, the article highlights the efficiency of nanoparticles (NPs) and nanozymes in food processing and packaging. To this end, the potential risks and impacts of NMs on soil, plants, and human tissues and organs are emphasized in order to unravel the complex bio-nano interactions. Finally, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of nanotechnology are evaluated and discussed to provide a broad and clear view of the nanotechnology potentials, as well as future directions for nano-based agri-food applications towards sustainability.
Diclofenac is an anti-inflammatory drug used as an analgesic. It is often detected in various environmental sources around the world and is considered as one of the emerging contaminants (ECs). This paper reviews the distribution of diclofenac at high concentrations in diverse environments and its adverse ecological impact. Recent studies observed strong evidence of the hazardous effect of diclofenac on mammals, including humans. Diclofenac could cause gastrointestinal complications, neurotoxicity, cardiotoxicity, hepatotoxicity, nephrotoxicity, hematotoxicity, genotoxicity, teratogenicity, bone fractures, and skin allergy in mammals even at a low concentration. Collectively, this comprehensive review relates the mode of toxicity, level of exposure, and route of administration as a unique approach for addressing the destructive consequence of diclofenac in mammalian systems. Finally, the mitigation strategy to eradicate the diclofenac toxicity through green remediation is critically discussed. This review will undoubtedly shed light on the toxic effects of pseudo-persistent diclofenac on mammals as well as frame stringent guidelines against its common usage.
Endosulfan, an organochlorine pesticide, is categorized as persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the Stockholm Convention and phased out globally. In this review, the distribution, toxicity, and interactive effect of endosulfan isomers and their remediation approaches are discussed. The occurrence of endosulfan residues in various environmental compartments (air, soil, and water) and biota (plants and animals) reported during 2016-2020 confirms its persistence and biomagnification probability in the ecosystem. The distribution pattern of endosulfan residues in the ecosystem is indicating both historical and recent input of endosulfan in the farmland. The existing literature on the ecotoxicological effects of endosulfan highlights various negative impacts on the target and non-targeted species, including plants, algae, aquatic species, terrestrial organisms, and mammals, including humans. Significantly, the toxicity of endosulfan could increase its intensity while interacting with other coexisting chemicals. Finally, this review suggests the distribution and persistence of endosulfan residues in the ecosystem could pose a potential risk to living organisms, including humans.
Fish bioconcentration factors (BCF) are used for the prediction of the environmental effects of new chemicals and some studies have suggested that they can be predicted from the Physico-chemical properties of the chemical. The rigorous use of pesticides resulted in the dispersal and persistence of pollutants throughout the ecosystem. Pesticides contamination in the aquatic ecosystem has become one of the most staggering issues due to their detrimental effect on public health and the environment. This study aimed to investigate the bioconcentration factor of pesticides monocrotophos and quinalphos in three tissues (skin, muscles, gills) of the fish Channa striatus for 21 days, of the three analyzed tissues of monocrotophos exposed fish, gill accumulated highest concentration of (0.033 mg kg-1) while muscles (0.012 mg kg-1) at the lowest, whereas the concentration of quinalphos was maximum (0.98mg kg-1) in liver and minimum (0.074 mg kg-1) in muscle. Results showed that the effect of pesticide differs from tissue to tissue. However, the levels exceeded maximum detection limits as recommended by U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Laboratory, Denver, Colo. Hence it is suggested that the fish containing pesticide residues beyond permissible limit should be avoided for food purposes.
Organophosphate poisoning is a continued menace associated with high morbidity and mortality in both resource-crunched developing and developed countries. Cases have been described of deliberate self-poisoning which has higher mortality than accidental exposure. Fatal poisoning by accidental dermal absorption is rarely reported for monocrotophos. Authors detail fatal accidental monocrotophos poisoning in adult female by dermal exposure while sleeping. Pesticide was detected in post-mortem blood and skin by chromatography and spectroscopy. Extraction along with review of literature for monocrotophos poisoning is adjuncted in this study.
Monocrotophos, commonly named Azodrin or Nuvacron, is an organophosphate insecticide, which in spite of ban is preferred due to its high efficacy against insect pests. With a field application dose of 0.25–1.5 kg ha⁻¹, it has median lethal dose (LD50) of 18–20 mg kg⁻¹ for mammals and half-life of 17–96 days. Monocrotophos uncontrolled application in farming has led to the contamination of surface and groundwater, causing neurotoxicity, genotoxicity, hyperglycaemic and stressogenic effects on different organisms. Being readily soluble in water, it is grouped under class I: highly toxic compounds. Microbes such as Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Aspergillus, Anabaena and Nostoc at 25–37 °C and pH 5.5–8.5 have the ability to utilize monocrotophos as nutrient source and can tolerate up to 500–1200 mg L⁻¹ of monocrotophos, causing its complete or partial degradation to dimethyl phosphate, phosphoric acid, valeric or acetic acid. On the other hand, generation of ·OH radicals by photoactivation of the catalyst such as TiO2 and ZnO leads to complete mineralization of monocrotophos. Biodegradation followed by photocatalytic degradation would be the most efficient and sustainable approach. This review focuses on toxicity, fate of monocrotophos in the environment and its microbial and photocatalytic degradation.
Several studies have demonstrated that high glucose feeding induced oxidative stress and apoptosis thereby affecting growth, fertility, aging and lifespan in Caenorhabditis elegans. Earlier studies from our laboratory have clearly established the propensity of monocrotophos, an OPI to alter the physiological and behavioural responses of C. elegans. The present study was aimed to investigate the effect of monocrotophos (MCP) on physiological / behavioural and biochemical responses in C. elegans that were maintained on high glucose diet. We exposed the worms through development to high glucose diet (2%) and then treated with sublethal concentrations of MCP (0.5, 0.75, 1.5 mM). We measured the behavioural responses in terms of locomotion, physiological responses in terms of egg laying, brood size, lifespan; morphological alterations; and biochemical responses including glucose content. The worms exposed from egg stage through development to high glucose diet showed enhanced toxic outcome of MCP in terms of physiological, behavioural and biochemical responses. Our studies showed that C. elegans is a good model to study glucose-OPI interactive neurotoxicity since all the responses could be studied at ease in this organism and the outcome could be well extrapolated to those that one would expect in higher animals.
Objective: Pesticides are stable compounds and they enter the aquatic ecosystem through the agriculture run off. The evaluation of nature and degree of harmful effects produced by the toxic substance in the aquatic organisms are evaluated by toxic tests. The 96 hour LC50 values have generally been found to be satisfactory for the measurement of acute toxicity. The differences in 96 h LC50 of the same toxicant in different fishes may be attributed to individual traits including those of behavior and additional structure such as accessory respiratory organs. The individual characters such as size and weight, sex and biological behavior are important determination for variation in LC50 Methods: Therefore, in this present study is an attempt to study the toxicity of the pesticide with respect to the hematology, biochemical and histology of fish Labeo rohita (Ham). The Monocrotophos affects not only fish but also organisms in the food chain through the process of consumption of one by the other. The pesticide, which enters the body tissues of the fish, affects the physiological activities. values. Results: The cytometric measurements of erythrocytes of sublethal exposure showed that there is not much differences from the control. In the control fish, the erythrocytes were oval in shape with elongated nucleus. Fish, exposed to sublethal concentration of Monocrotophos showed abnormal size Reduction in the volume of the cytoplasm of cells and swelling of nuclei were observed in fish exposed to concentration. In the hematology, the total Red Blood Corpuscle and Haemoglobin content were decreased with the increasing hours of exposure of the monocrotophos 36% EC. The amount of the Mean Corpuscular Haemoglobin (MCH) also was increased. The haemoglobin content directly relationship for RBC content it indicate count leading to anemia as a result of inhibition of erthropoiesis, haemosynthesis and increase in the rate of erythrocyte destruction in haemopoietic organs. However, the total was total White Blood Corpuscle was increased with the increasing hours of exposure of the Monocrotophos 36% E. C. The constant increasing in the differential count clearly indicates that the pesticide stress certainly stimulate the white blood cells to produce more at all time of exposure. A linear relationship was established with respect to pesticide monocrotophos and total White Blood Corpuscle. The constant increase in the differential count clearly indicates that the pesticide stress certainly stimulate the white blood cells to produce more at all times of exposure. Conclusion: It has been suggested that the enumeration of differential cell ratio counts provide of useful diagnostic procedure to assess the physiological stress in the fish.
Cross-regulation occurs at many points between the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonad (HPG) and hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) axes. Monocrotophos (MCP) pesticide could disrupt HPG and HPT axes, but its direct target within the endocrine system is still unclear. In the present study, hormone concentrations and transcriptional profiles of HPG and HPT genes were examined in male goldfish (Carassius auratus) exposed to 0, 4, 40, and 400 μg/L MCP for 2, 4, 8, and 12 d. In vivo data were analyzed by multiple linear regression and correlation analysis, quantitatively indicating that MCP-induced plasma 17β-estradiol (E2) levels were most associated with alteration of cyp19a transcription, which was also a potential point indirectly modulated by the MCP-altered thyroid hormones (THs) status; disturbance of THs pathways was most related with effect of MCP on regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary hormones involved in the thyroid system, and the increased E2 levels might enhance the impact of MCP on HPT axis by modulating hepatic deiodinase expression. Our finding, based on these correlational data, gave a whole view of the regulations, especially on the cross-talk between sex hormone and thyroid hormone pathways upon exposure to chemicals with unknown direct target in vivo, and cautions should be exercised when developing adverse outcome pathway networks for reproductive and thyroidal endocrine disruption.
One of the major classes of pesticides is that of the organophosphates (OPs). Initial developments date back almost two centuries but it was only in the mid-1940s that OPs reached a prominent status as insecticides, a status that, albeit declining, is still ongoing. OPs are highly toxic to non-target species including humans, the primary effects being an acute cholinergic toxicity (responsible for thousands of poisoning each year) and a delayed polyneuropathy. Several issues of current debate and investigation on the toxicology of OPs are discussed in this brief review. These include 1) possible additional targets of OPs, 2) OPs as developmental neurotoxicants, 3) OPs and neurodegenerative diseases, 4) OPs and the "aerotoxic syndrome", 5) OPs and the microbiome, and 6) OPs and cancer. Some of these issues have been debated and studied for some time, while others are newer, suggesting that the study of the toxicology of OPs will remain an important scientific and public health issue for years to come.