Physiological effects of a pesticide mixture on the neotropical fish Piaractus mesopotamicus

BACCHETTA C., CAZENAVE J., FASSI M.F., PARMA M.J., ALE A., ROSSI A.

BIOCELL

INST HISTOL EMBRIOL-CONICET

Lugar: Mendoza; Año: 2011 vol. 35 p. 263 - 263

0327-9545

Among the most used compounds for pest-control in Argentinean soybeans crops are organochlorine and pyrethroids insecticides. The main goal of this study was to assess sublethal physiological effects of a pesticide mixture (endosulfan and ¦Ë-cialothrin) in Piaractus mesopotamicus (¡°pac¨²¡±). Morphological, hematological, oxidative stress and enzymatic biomarkers were analyzed. Semistatic assays (96h) were carried out in juvenile fish, which were exposed to 1.1 ¦Ìg¡¤L-1 endosulfan and 0.7 ¦Ìg¡¤L-1 ¦Ë-cialothrin, alone and together (in combination). Fish exposed to the pesticide mixture showed an increase in the liver-somatic index and hematological changes related to white cells (increase in the white blood cells count, changes in the leucocytes frequency), a decrease in liver transaminases activity, an increase in lipid peroxidation levels in liver, kidney and brain, and changes in the glutathione S-transferase activity in liver, intestine and gills. Endosulfan and ¦Ë-cialothrin mixture produced a strong immune response and oxidative stress in several vital organs of P. mesopotamicus. These results show the significance of assessing complex exposure scenarios, to advance in environmental risk assessment.