الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract Widespread use of insecticides for public health and agriculture has caused severe environmental pollution and potential health hazards. Nanotechnology is a powerful new technology for reconstructing nature at the atomic and molecular level. This study was conducted to determine the efficacy of nanoparticles Zinc Oxide (ZnO-NPs) to reduce the toxic effects of Chlorpyrifos (CPF) or Fipronil (FIP) on the immunity and fertility of adult male rats for 9 weeks. Animals were divided into a control and five experimental groups (20 each). The first experimental group received water contained 75mg/L CPF. The second group received water contained 75 mg/L CPF and 200 mg/L ZnO-NPs. Rats of the third experimental group received 30 mg/L FIP. While, the fourth group received 30 mg/L FIP and 200 mg/L ZnO-NPs. The fifth group received water contained 200 mg/L ZnO-NPs. Result showed that CPF or FIP induced toxicological effects, they markedly reduced body weight gain and water consumption and induced pathologic changes in the liver, spleen and testis as showed on postmortem inspection and histopathological examination. The level of serum ALT and oxidative stress biomarkers including CAT, MDA and reduced GSH showed significant changes. DNA fragmentation of liver spleen and testis was severely increased by CPF or FIP. The immune response was reduced as determined by assessment of the phagocytic activity of neutrophils, comet assay on lymphocytes, macrophages activity, the levels of serum lysozyme activity, IL-2 and IL-6, and total protein and its profile as estimated by dendrogram bands of SDS-PAGE electrophoresis. In addition, fertility of male rats was decreased as evaluated through estimation of sperm motility, morphology and concentration by CPF or FIP. On the other hand, all these deleterious effects of CPF or FIP were alleviated in the groups that received water containing CPF or FIP and ZnO nanoparticles. These findings suggested that nanoparticles of ZnO have high affinity to adsorb CPF or FIP and can effectively modulate their toxicity in rats; this may offer a novel approach to the preventive management of pesticides in animals. |