Evaluation of The Mutagenicity and Oxidative Stress of Fipronil After Subchronic Exposure in Male Albino Rats

Abstract

Fipronil (FPN) is a wide-ranging effective N-phenylpyrazole insecticide that is commonly used in agriculture and public health for a long time but until now no adequate data available concerning its side effect. The present study was to evaluate the oxidative stress, cytotoxicity, and mutagenic effect of FPN subchronic exposure. Twenty male Albino rats (120g±10%) were randomly assigned into four groups each has five animals, a control group, two FPN treated groups with doses of 3.9, and 2.3 mg kg-1 b.w. per day for 90 days and the fourth group is a positive control group. Superoxide Dismutase (SOD), Catalase (CAT), and Malondialdehyde level (MDA) were used as oxidative stress biomarkers. The cytotoxicity was estimated by micronucleus assay, while the mutagenic effect was studied on the P53 tumor suppressor gene using the single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) technique. The results showed that SOD significantly decreased in the high and low doses treatments and insignificant changes in CAT compared to control. MDA was significantly elevated in the high dose group and remained insignificant in the low dose. The high dose of FPN was showed an increased number of micronuclei in the Normochromatic Erythrocytes (NCE) in the bone marrow. PCR-SSCP analysis by acrylamide gel didn’t show mutations in the P53 gene. This study demonstrated that FPN induces oxidative stress and micronuclei but did not show alternation of the P53 gene. The study indicated the relative safeness of fipronil to be used in the public health field with taking all use precautions.