engleski

Prenatal exposure to α-cypermethrin and endocrine disruption in mother rats and foetuses at term

α-cypermethrin (α-cyp) is a synthetic pyrethroid insecticide widely used in and around households, as well as in agriculture and veterinary applications due to its rapid degradation rate and low mammalian toxicity. Due to the fact that pyrethroids are one of the most used groups of insecticides worldwide and can act as endocrine disrupting chemicals, we investigated the effects of prenatal exposure to α- cyp on endocrine disruption parameters in rat mothers and foetuses at term. Pregnant Wistar rats were orally exposed from the 6th day of gestation (DG) to the 21st to α-cyp at 1, 10, and 19 mg/kg bw/day, diethylsilbestrol as positive control, corn oil as solvent control, and water as negative control. At the 21st DG, gravid uterus and ovaries were dissected under general anaesthesia and parameters of endocrine disruption were monitored according to adequate OECD protocols. No differences were found in the number of corpora lutea in the ovaries. The number of implants, live or dead foetuses, as well as of early and late resorptions did not change between groups. No changes in the number and weight of male and female foetuses were noticed. Male to female foetal sex ratio (% per litter) was approximately 70 to 30 % in the rats treated with α-cyp at 1 and 10 mg/kg bw/day and diethylsilbestrol, while about 40 to 60 %in negative and solvent control. Our findings suggest that α-cyp at the applied exposure scenarios and doses did not act as an endocrine disruptor in mother rats and foetuses.

endocrine disrupting chemical ; gravid uterus ; in utero exposure ; ovaries ; pyrethroid insecticide

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