Abstract
Several studies have reported toxicological implications of inhalational exposure to petrol fumes in animal models; however, there is little or no documentation on the probable effect of exposure in human subjects. This study investigated the relationship between exposure to petrol fumes and lipid peroxidation and antioxidant levels among petrol station attendants in Ibadan, South-West Nigeria A total of 150 subjects consisting of 100 petrol attendants and 50 control subjects were recruited. Ten mL of blood was collected from ante-cubital vein of subjects for analysis. Results reveal that exposure to petrol fumes is associated with oxidative stress. Significant (p<0.001) elevation of malondialdehyde was associated with marked decreases in superoxide dismutase (p<0.01), catalase (p<0.001) and glutathione (p<0.05) when compared with the control. Chain breaking antioxidant vitamins results include significant (p<0.05) decreases in vitamin E and no significant difference in vitamin C (p>0.05) when compared with control. Also there was a significant decrease in total protein (p<0.05) but no significant difference in albumin (p>0.05) in petrol attendants compared with the control. Our findings imply that exposure to petroleum fumes is a risk factor and is associated with oxidative stress which raises the need for public awareness about the health hazards in order to enable petrol attendants to take necessary precautionary measures.
Highlights
Petrol is distilled from crude petroleum and vapour obtained as a result of its evaporation may be considered as petrol fumes
A total of 150 subjects comprising of 40 females and 110 males were recruited for the study, 100 subjects (25 females and 75 males) were petrol attendants and the remaining 50 subjects (15 females and 35 males) were control
Petrol attendants exhibited significant (p
Summary
Petrol is distilled from crude petroleum and vapour obtained as a result of its evaporation may be considered as petrol fumes. Aromatic and a variety of other branched saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbons which are a continued source of pollution in various occupational setting It has been demonstrated that after inhalation of petroleum vapour through chronic exposure, lower concentrations of saturated hydrocarbons are detected in human and animal blood than that of the unsaturated aromatic hydrocarbons (Yamamoto and Wilson, 1987). Both diesel and gasoline engine exhausts are known to contain, in either the particulate or the vapour phase, a variety of mutagenic and carcinogenic agents (Yamamoto and Wilson, 1987). We assessed the levels of biomarkers of oxidative stress in petrol attendants in Ibadan, South-West of Nigeria
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