Pyrethroids - could they be dangerous?

Abstract

Pyrethroids are powerful insecticides, which are worldwide use in pest control, in agriculture, forestry, even in households. The amount of used pyrethroids is growing every year. They were created as the result of a modification of natural pyrethrin, which is botanical insecticide extracted from chrysanthemum flowers. The pyrethroids are the substances with powerful effects on insects nervous system due to binding to voltage-gated sodium channels of nerve cells. Despite of relatively low risk of toxicological effect on humans and other mammals, there are many reports of acute or chronic exposure on pyrethroids. Based on available literature implicates that pyrethroids induce adverse health effects on non-target organisms. The associations between exposure to pyrethroids and the effect on nervous, endocrinological and immunological systems were reported. The purpose of this study was to analyze an association between exposure to pyrethroids and its potential poisoning effect on humans.

Keywords

• pyrethroids
• insecticides
• poisoning
• toxicology