Julieta Castillo-Cadena

In vitro evaluation of the mutagenic and cytostatic effect of Tamaron, Lannate and Manzate alone and in mixture

ABSTRACT Pesticides are often used in agriculture, especially in floriculture. They are frequently applied in binary or ternary mixtures. Nevertheless, their impact on the genetic material has been scarcely explored. In this study, the mutagenic and cytostatic effect of three widely used pesticides, alone and combined, were analyzed. Briefly, lymphocytes cultures were obtained from peripheral blood samples of five healthy donors to determine the sister chromatid exchange and the replicative index (RI). Then, lymphocytes were exposed to Tamaron (100 ppm), Lannate (200 ppm) and Manzate (300 ppm) alone and combined. For the binary mixtures, the concentrations used were 50 ppm of Tamaron, 100 ppm of Lannate and 150 ppm of Manzate. For the ternary mixtures the following concentrations were used: Tamaron (33 ppm), Lannate (70 ppm) and Manzate (100 ppm). Finally, differential staining was performed. It was found that the frequency of SCE/cell showed a significant difference (P ≤ 0.05) between the control (2.66) and the individual treatments of Tamaron (4.87), Lannate: (5.12) and Manzate (4.23). Also, the values of the SCE in the binary mixture of Tamaron+Lannate (5.57), Tamaron+Manzate (6.06) and Lannate+Manzate (6.22) and the ternary mixture (6.63) were statistically different compared to the control. In the RI there was a significant difference between the control (1.98) and the Manzate (1.87). RI differences were also statistically significant (P ≤ 0.05) in mixtures of Tamaron+Lannate (1.64), Tamaron+Manzate (1.63), Lannate+Manzate (1.69) and total mixture (1.53). Therefore, it is suggested that these pesticides alone and in mixtures have both mutagenic and cytostatic synergistic effect in human lymphocytes in vitro.

Immunotoxic damage in floriculturists exposed to pesticide mixtures

The aim of the present work was to determine if the use of pesticide mixtures produced alterations in immunotoxicity biomarkers. The study was undertaken in three groups: the first group consisted of 38 floriculturists, the second comprised 38 vendors of the local market, and the last comprised 33 non-exposed persons from another locality. The determinations included haematocrit, mean cellular volume, hemoglobin, number of erythrocytes and leukocytes, immunoglobulins (IgA, IgG, IgM, and IgE), percentage of T-lymphocytes, and mitotic index from lymphocyte cultures with and without phytohaemagglutinin (PHA). The obtained results indicated the following: (i) in the level of the studied immunoglobulins, the results were within the reference values; (ii) there was a reduction in the amount of T-lymphocytes in the floriculturists in comparison with the determined in the other two groups; (iii) there was a decrease in the mitotic index of PHA-stimulated lymphocyte cultures of floriculturists and vendors in relation to the value of the control group; (iv) there was an increase in the mitotic index of unstimulated lymphocytes of floriculturists compared with the lymphocytes of the other two groups; and (v) there was no correlation between the results and the personal characteristics of the studied individuals. Our results established an immunotoxic effect in the floriculturists exposed to pesticides.