Hepatotoxicity Induced by Chlorpyrifos in 'Wistar' Rats

Abstract

Chlorpyrifos-ethyl is one of the most widely used organophosphorus insecticides for industrial, agricultural and public health purposes. The present work aimed to evaluate the chlorpyrifos-ethyl induced hepatic toxicity on some parameters of oxidative stress in 'Wistar' rats. After daily gavage for 60 days, this insecticide induced cellular damage in exposed rats through the increase in alanine aminotransferease (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activities. In addition, liver parameters showed an increase in hepatic lipid peroxidation as indicated by the malondialdehyde (MDA) contents, as well as a decrease in the catalase (CAT) activity. A reduction in glutathione (GSH) and glutathioneS-transferase (GST) and an increase in glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities were also noted. These alterations indicated that chlorpyrifos affected the antioxidant system in hepatic tissue, induced hepatic damage and consequently triggered the oxidative stress.

Keywords

• Antioxidant system
• chlorpyrifos-ethyl
• hepatic toxicity
• lipid peroxidation
• oxidative stress