Toxicokinetic and toxicodynamic studies of carbaryl alone or in binary mixtures with azinphos methyl in the freshwater gastropod Planorbarius corneus

Abstract

Carbamate insecticides such as carbaryl and organophosphates such as azinphos-methyl share the ability to inhibit the activity of B-esterases. This study aimed to (1) assess the inhibitory effects of carbaryl on B-esterase activity in soft tissues and hemolymph of Planorbarius corneus; (2) establish whether binary mixtures of carbaryl and azinphos-methyl depart or not from a model of concentration addition on the inhibition of cholinesterase activity; (3) determine the bioconcentration and elimination of the pesticides. The results showed that exposure of gastropods to increasing concentrations of carbaryl (0.1–5 mg L−1) for 48 h inhibited cholinesterase activity in a concentration-dependent manner, with an EC50 of 1.4 ± 0.3 mg L−1 and 1.2 ± 0.1 mg L−1 for soft tissue and hemolymph, respectively. Carboxylesterase activity, measured with the substrates p-nitrophenyl butyrate and p-nitrophenyl acetate, was between 2.3 and 25 times more sensitive to carbaryl inhibition than cholinesterase activity. Binary mixtures corresponding to 0.5 EC50 carbaryl + 0.5 EC50 azinphos-methyl and 0.75 EC50 carbaryl + 0.75 EC50 azinphos-methyl produced inhibitions of cholinesterase activity similar to those of individual pesticides, following a model of concentration addition. Bioconcentration was analyzed using a one-compartment model. The absorption kinetics (k1) for both pesticides alone (1.4 mg L−1 of carbaryl or 1.8 mg L−1 of azinphos-methyl) or mixed (1.4 mg L−1 of carbaryl + 1.8 mg L−1 of azinphos-methyl) were similar. The elimination kinetics ratio (k2) estimated for the pesticides alone or in the mixtures showed that carbaryl was eliminated 3.5 times faster than azinphos-methyl. These results suggest that exposure of Planorbarius corneus to binary mixtures of carbaryl and azinphos-methyl for 48 h follow a concentration addition model on inhibition of cholinesterase activity and that the pesticide mixtures do not change the toxicokinetic parameters of the parent compounds.