Toxicological effects induced by acephate in male Wistar rats
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Date
2020
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Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana
Abstract
Acephate, an organophosphate pesticide is widely used in agriculture against sucking pests like
white flies, jassids, aphids and leaf miners etc., and was used in the present study to investigate its
noxious effects on male Wistar rats at three sub-chronic dose levels of 1/50th, 1/25th and 1/10th of
LD50 for four weeks. It was observed that at the highest dose (1/10th of LD50), rats were
moderately aggressive and wounds along with cloudy eyes and severe hair-fall was observed. Rats
treated with 1/25th of LD50 dose were hyperactive, whereas those treated with 1/50th of LD50 show
depressed activity. Average water (67.83%) and feed consumption (24.10%) decreased
significantly in 1/10th of LD50 dose as compared to control and other treatments. Net body weight
gain was non-significantly lower (5.82%) in 1/10th of LD50 treated dose as compared to control.
On the completion of four weeks, rats were dissected and it was observed that the weight of liver
significantly decreased (8.57%) in 1/10th of LD50 treated rats, whereas a non-significant decrease
was recorded among lungs (20.51%), testis (33.78%), kidney (7.89%), heart (9.67%) and spleen
(7.69%) at all doses. The activity of antioxidant enzymes like superoxide dismutase, catalase,
glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, lipid peroxidation and glutathione-S-transferase
were differentially altered in liver, kidney, testis and plasma of treated (1/50th, 1/25th and 1/10th of
LD50) rats. A non-significant decreased level of AOA, ACP, ALP and phospholipids were
observed in all the treatments as compared to control. In testis, cholesterol level increased (2.42
times) non-significantly, whereas level of total lipids decreased (18.76%) significantly at 1/10th of
LD50 in treated rats as compared to control. Sperm motility, viability and concentration decreased,
while sperm abnormality increased in a dose-dependent manner among all the treated groups.
Thus, effecting reproductive potentials of rat. Results of spermatogenic cell count revealed that the
number of cells decline with increasing dose of acephate. On evaluating histoarchitectural
changes, testis revealed distorted and necrotic seminiferous tubules, vacuolar degeneration and
reduced spermatozoa in lumen. Acephate did not exhibit immunotoxicity as no concentric rings
appeared in the slides of treated groups, but acephate definitely interacted with DNA as comet tail
was observed in 1/10th of LD50 treated rats, whereas at lower doses little DNA damage was
observed. The present study provides insight to the fact that acephate induces oxidative stress,
DNA damage along with degenerative histological changes in testes. Besides this, acephate was
genotoxic but not an immunotoxic agent.