Evaluation of Cytotoxic and Genotoxic Risk Derived from Exposure to Pesticides in Corn Producers in Tlaxcala, Mexico

Abstract

Corn cultivation represents the largest type of agricultural production in Mexico, with great economic, social, and cultural importance. The health of corn producers could be compromised by the extensive and accumulated use of pesticides. The effects of pesticides in terms of their cytotoxic and genotoxic damage in two groups of peasant maize producers in Tlaxcala, Mexico, were considered here. The buccal micronucleus cytome assay was used as an indicator of cytotoxicity and genotoxicity, along with nuclear abnormalities present in farmers who had used pesticides in the last thirty years. In total, 21 commercial products used in corn production were identified, mainly herbicides belonging to the chlorophenoxy, triazine, and organophosphate compounds; in addition, it was observed that a small group of farmers use the active ingredient carbofuran, as well as insecticides and fungicides. The results show that farmers with higher pesticide use present higher rates of cytotoxic and genotoxic damage compared to the group of producers with higher incidence rates of agroecological practices and lower rates of pesticide use, as revealed by the micronucleus assay, as well as by nuclear abnormalities present in the epithelial cells of the buccal mucosa. The agroecological farmer group used only herbicides, with the 2,4-D (Hierbamina) being the greatest use in maize cultivation.