Evaluation of pesticide-induced DNA damage and oxidative stress on human and wildlife populations in Santa Fe province (Argentina)

POLETTA, GISELA L.; SIMONIELLO, MA. FERNANDA; PORCEL DE PERALTA, MAURO; KLEINSORGE, ELISA C.; SIROSKI, PABLO A.; MUDRY, MARTA D.

Pesticides. Characteristics, uses and health implications

Nova Science Publishers

Lugar: New York; Año: 2012;

For a long time toxicity of pesticides was directly associated to acute effects, while nowadays the main problem is related to massive application and the effects induced by chronic exposure to pesticides and complex mixtures, even at very low concentrations. Among the wide range of damages cause by pesticides on health, genotoxicity and oxidative stress (OE) are considered biologically relevant and highly informative as early warnings of the impacts on natural populations. OE is the result of an imbalance between free radicals formation and antioxidant defense mechanisms. In this condition, the excess in reactive molecules can lead to direct or indirect damage to proteins, lipids and DNA. The final fate of these alterations is uncertain, but they could affect the normal function of physiological processes, with consequences at cellular, individual and population level. In the present chapter, we present an evaluation of the environmental situation of an area highly exposed to pesticides (Santa Fe province, Argentina), including studies made in wildlife species as well as in human populations directly and indirectly exposed to pesticides and mixtures. We use biomarkers of genotoxicity (Comet assay and Micronucleus test), and oxidative stress (damage to lipids: TBARS, to DNA: Comet assay modified with bacterial enzyme FPG, and antioxidant defense: CAT, SOD y GSH). In human populations, confounding factors were also analyzed. The results obtained at different level could be highly valuable to estimate the real impact of chronic exposure of human and wildlife populations to pesticides mixtures in this region of Argentina.