Biodegradation of a carbamate pesticide, propoxur, in rat tissues

Abstract

Propoxur (Baygon, 2-isopropoxyphenyl N-methylcarbamate) is a carbamate pesticide commonly used against house insects. When the insecticide was administered intramuscularly in rats it was converted to a new metabolite which was found to be present in the serum, liver, kidney and brain 6 h after the administration of the pesticide. The metabolite was purified by high performance liquid to chromatography and comparison of the infrared spectra of Propoxur and the metabolite showed that a deamination reaction was responsible for the formation of the metabolite from the parent pesticide. The pesticide also induced haematological changes such as an increased level of total bilubrin, amylase and glutamic-oxalacetic transaminase and decrease of cholinesterase activity, indicating damage of the liver and nervous system in rats.

Liver Damage among Environmental Disinfestation Workers

“…The findings show that the screening protocol employed is valid and easily administered in the workplace to identify subjects at risk of hepatotoxicity, detecting risk among an exposed population and establish how often tests should be done, depending on the level of response of the variables investigated [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30]. Disinfestation workers should therefore undergo periodic health checks with particular attention paid to the liver.…”