Toxicological effects in rabbits induced by endosulfan, lindane, and methylparathion representing agricultural byproducts contamination.

Abstract

Southern Spain is a dry area where water is conservatively used in agriculture to produce crops for human consumption and profit. The major crops are vegetables (eg. tomatoes, peppers), fruits (eg. lemons, oranges, apricots) and ornamental plants (eg. carnation flowers). These cultivated crops result in large amounts of agricultural byproducts. These byproducts have economic importance for use as animal feeds in rabbits and ruminants, to compensate for lack of forages due to the water shortage (Moreno and Ocio, 1988). Pesticide contamination resulting from agricultural practices for pest control limit the safe use of these products. The main problems that result are clinical and subclinical effects leading to losses in animal performance or in residue contamination of animal products which may later be consumed by humans (Cer6n, 1993). The purpose of this work is to study the effects that can be produced by endosulfan, lindane and methylparathion, pesticides heavily used in this area, that frequently contaminate agricultural byproducts (Cer6n, 1993). The rabbit, which is used in Spain as a meat source, was employed as an experimental animal to study clinical, hematological, and biochemical effects and pesticide residues resulting in tissues following endosulfan exposure. These results provide experimental evidence of the potential problems associated with feeding agricultural byproducts previously sprayed with these pesticides.