An overview on dimethoate toxicity and human health

Year 2017, Volume 2, Issue 1(4), 32 - 32, 01.11.2017

Ayşe Eken

Abstract

The
aim of this review is to inform that dimethoate has toxic effects in humans.
There has been growing concern about the excessive use of pesticides, the
consequent environmental pollution and toxic effects on human health.
Dimethoate, which is one of the most important organophosphorus pesticides, is
frequently used in agriculture against a wide range of insects and mites as
both a systemic and a contact pesticide. For humans, the main risk groups of
higher-dose dimethoate exposure are pesticide producers, pesticide workers and
farm owners. The extensive use of dimethoate poses a health hazard to humans
because of its persistence in soil, crops, and cow’s milk. Majority of
population is exposed to lower doses of dimethoate via food, contaminated
drinking water, or by application of household insecticides containing
dimethoate. The mechanism of the toxic action of dimethoate is one of
inhibiting the acetylcholinesterase activity, leading to accumulation of
acetylcholine and subsequent activation of cholinergic, muscarinic and
nicotinic receptors. Recent studies have also demonstrated that acute and
subchronic exposure to dimethoate causes to oxidative stress through generation
of free radicals and induction of lipid peroxidation.

As a result, it has been reported the toxicity of dimethoate results in
deleterious effects on many organs and systems in human and other mammals such
as the liver, kidney, pancreas, brain, nervous system, immune system and
reproductive system. The WHO and US EPA have placed dimethoate in “Toxicity
class II,” a moderate toxicant. However, the International Agency for Research
on Cancer was unable to classify dimethoate with regard to its potential
carcinogenicity due to the inadequacies of existing studies. The information on
the genotoxic properties of dimethoate is limited and inconsistent.

In this presentation, the toxicity of dimethoate exposure on human health were
discussed briefly.

 

Keywords:
Pesticide,
dimethoate, health, toxicity

 

Keywords

An overview on dimethoate toxicity and human health

References

• Ayşe Eken Department of Pharmaceutical Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey.