Teratological studies with dichlorvos vapour in rabbits and rats

Dichlorvos toxicity: A public health perspective

Pesticides are used in agriculture and in domestic pest control. Dichlorvos, an organophosphate, is a predominant pesticide used in domestic insect control in developing countries. Acute and prolonged exposure may lead to death, genotoxic, neurological, reproductive, carcinogenic, immunological, hepatic, renal, respiratory, metabolic, dermal and other systemic effects. Its toxicity is due to the ability of the compound to inhibit acetyl cholinesterase at cholinergic junction of the nervous system. This study is a review of the toxicological effects of dichlorvos in a public health perspective.

Occupational exposure limits for 30 organophosphate pesticides based on inhibition of red blood cell acetylcholinesterase

Toxicity and other relevant data for 30 organophosphate pesticides were evaluated to suggest inhalation occupational exposure limits (OELs), and to support development of a risk assessment strategy for organophosphates in general. Specifically, the value of relative potency analysis and the predictability of inhalation OELs by acute toxicity measures and by repeated oral exposure NOELs was assessed. Suggested OELs are based on the prevention of red blood cell (RBC) acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition and are derived using a weight-of-evidence risk assessment approach. Suggested OEL values range from 0.002 to 2 mg/m(3), and in most cases, are less than current permissible exposure levels (PELs) or threshold limit values(R) (TLVs(R)). The available data indicate that experimental data for most organophosphates evaluated are limited; most organophosphates are equally potent RBC AChE inhibitors in different mammalian species; NOELs from repeated exposure studies of variable duration are usually equivalent; and, no particular grouping based on organophosphate structure is consistently more potent than another. Further, relative potency analyses have limited usefulness in the risk assessment of organophosphates. The data also indicated that equivalent relative potency relationships do not exist across either exposure duration (acute vs. repeated) or exposure route (oral vs. inhalation). Consideration of all variable duration and exposure route studies are therefore usually desirable in the development of an OEL, especially when data are limited. Also, neither acute measures of toxicity nor repeated oral exposure NOELs are predictive of weight-of-evidence based inhalation OELs. These deviations from what is expected based on the common mechanism of action for organophosphates across exposure duration and route - AChE inhibition - is likely due to the lack of synchrony between the timing of target tissue effective dose and the experimental observation of equivalent response. Thus, comprehensive interpretation of all toxicity data in the context of available toxicokinetic, toxicodynamic and exposure information for each individual organophosphate in a weight-of-evidence based risk assessment is desirable when deriving inhalation OELs.

Teratogenic potential of dichlorvos given by inhalation and gavage to mice and rabbits

Dichlorvos (2,2-dichlorovinyl dimethyl phosphate) is an important organophosphate insecticide and anthelmintic with widespread use. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the teratogenic potential of dichlorvos given orally at the maximum tolerated dose to mice (60 mg/kg/day) and rabbits (5 mg/kg/day) and by inhalation in both species at a concentration of 4 microgram/l seven hours daily. Dichlorvos was not found to be teratogenic in either species by either route of administration.

Dichlorvos -- a 2-year inhalation carcinogenesis study in rats

To determine the effects of dichlorvos vapour on the tumour incidence in rats, 5 week old Carworth Farm E strain rats weighing between 94 and 150 g were exposed to 0, 0.05, 0.5 and 5.0 mg/m3 in a 2-year inhalation study. The growth rate of all treated rats was depressed, particularly in the males. There was increased survival of the rats exposed to 5 mg/m3. There were no consistent differences in food intakes, organ weights, haematological or blood chemistry estimations, except in cholinesterase activites, amongst the various groups of rats. No compound-related differences were seen in acetylcholine and choline estimations carried out on a small number of female rats' brain tissues after two years' exposure. There were no gross or microscopical compound-related changes in the rats' tissues. Ultrastructural examination of the respiratory tissues of the rats from the control and 5 mg/m3 group showed no changes attributable to dichlorvos. The results of a relative risk analysis of the tumour data showed that no dose-related increase in tumour risk was established for rats of either sex. These data confirm the results of earlier st.udies supporting the safety of insecticidal uses of dichlorvos.

Chemical induction of sperm abnormalities in mice

The sperm of (C57BL X C3H)F1 mice were examined 1, 4, and 10 weeks after a subacute treatment with one of 25 chemicals at two or more dose levels. The fraction of sperm that were abnormal in shape was elevated above control values of 1.2-3.4% for methyl methanesulfonate, ethyl methanesulfonate, griseofulvin, benzo[a]pyrene, METEPA [tris(2-methyl-l-aziridinyl)phosphine oxide], THIO-TEPA [tris(l-aziridinyl)phosphine sulfide], mitomycin C, myleran, vinblastine sulphate, hydroxyurea, 3-methylcholanthrene, colchicine, actinomycin D, imuran, cyclophosphamide, 5-iododeoxyuridine, dichlorvos, aminopterin, and trimethylphosphate. Dimethylnitrosamine, urethane, DDT [1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane], 1,1-dimethylhydrazine, caffeine, and calcium cyclamate did not induce elevated levels of sperm abnormalities. The results suggest that sperm abnormalities might provide a rapid inexpensive mammalian screen for agents that lead to errors in the differentiation of spermatogenic stem cells in vivo and thus indicate agents which might prove to be mutagenic, teratogenic, or carcinogenic.