Adverse Outcomes of Repeated Chlorpyrifos- Ethyl and Methyl Exposure in Rats: The Ameliorating Role of N-Acetylcysteine

Ezz El-Din, Eslam; Osman, Khaled; Ahmed, Nabila; El-Seedy, Ayman

doi:10.21608/asejaiqjsae.2019.64903

Adverse Outcomes of Repeated Chlorpyrifos- Ethyl and Methyl Exposure in Rats: The Ameliorating Role of N-Acetylcysteine

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Department of Pesticide Chemistry and Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Alexandria University;

² Department of Genetics, Faculty of Agriculture, Alexandria University, P.O Box 21545, Alexandria, Egypt

10.21608/asejaiqjsae.2019.64903

Abstract

The ameliorating effect of 150 mg/kg b.w. of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) against the oral administration of 7.88 (1/25 LD₅₀) or 202.07 (1/10 LD₅₀) mg/kg/day for 14 days of chlorpyrifos- ethyl (CPF-E) and chlorpyrifos-methyl (CPF-M), respectively, was investigated using neurobehavioral and biochemical markers for this toxicity. Neurobehavioral tests; open field test (OFT), hole-board test (HBT), light/dark box test (LDBT) and elevated plus maze (EPM) showed increase frequency of exploration, low level of anxiety and locomotor in rats treated with either CPE-E or CPF-M, while the co-administration of NAC to treated rats attenuated neurobehavioral parameters. Biomarkers such as acetylcholinesterase (AChE), butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE), paraoxonase (PON) and adenosine 5'-triphosphatase, (ATP-ase) showed declining in their activities, while calcium (Ca⁺²) levels in brain were increased. However, the administration of NAC following the intoxification of CPF-E or CPF-M attenuated the values of these biomarkers. It can be concluded that NAC can be used to ameliorate the toxicity of certain organophosphorus compounds such as CPF-E and CPF-M and considered it as a choice for the prevention and treatment of either CPF-E or CPF-M -induced toxicity.

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