Determination of the pyrethroid insecticide metabolite 3-PBA in plasma and urine samples from farmer and consumer groups in northern Thailand

Abstract

In this study, the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) were modified to detect 3-PBA in plasma (including the adducted form) and urine among a large group of consumers and farmers in an agricultural area. The samples were collected on the same day in the morning from 100 consumers (50 females, 50 males) and 100 farmers (50 females, 50 males) in the Fang district, Chiang Mai province, northern Thailand. The ELISA was very sensitive having an IC50 value of 26.7 and 15.3 ng/mL, a limit of quantitation of 5 and 2.5 ng/mL and a limit of detection of 1.08 and 1.94 ng/mL for plasma and urine, respectively. These methods had low (< 5%) intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation. The extraction technique satisfactorily eliminated the matrix effect from samples before ELISA analysis, yielding good recoveries (85.9–99.4% and 87.3–98.0%, respectively). For the volunteer study, the detection rate for plasma 3-PBA was 24% in consumers and 42% in farmers, but the median and range values were similar (median 5.87 ng/mL, range 5.16–8.44 ng/mL in consumers and 6.27 ng/mL, range 4.29–9.57 ng/mL in farmers). The rate of detection in the urine was similar (76% and 69%, in consumers and in farmers), yet the median concentration was significantly higher in farmers (8.86 μg/g creatinine in consumers vs 16.1 μg/g creatinine in farmers) and the range also much wider in farmers (1.62–80.5 μg/g creatinine in consumers and 0.80–256.2 μg/g creatinine in farmers). There was no correlation between plasma 3-PBA and urinary 3-PBA concentrations in the study presumably because plasma 3-PBA is a measure of cumulative exposures while urinary 3-PBA reflects acute exposures. In addition, metabolism and excretion of pyrethroids varies by individual. Nevertheless, this study demonstrated that these volunteers were exposed to pyrethroids. To our knowledge, this is the first report that compared plasma 3-PBA and urinary 3-PBA in a large group of volunteers. The ELISA method provided higher sample throughput with lower cost as compared to the instrumental analysis.

Inhibition of Human Drug Transporter Activities by the Pyrethroid Pesticides Allethrin and Tetramethrin

“…Humans are thought to be widely exposed to these pesticides [2, 3], especially through the diet [4], because pyrethroids are frequently detected in some fruits and vegetables [5]. Additionally, dusts and surfaces can contribute to pyrethroid exposure at residences [6], whereas occupational exposure to pyrethroids has also to be taken into account, notably in agricultural workers [7]. …”

Bioaccumulation and enantioselectivity of type I and type II pyrethroid pesticides in earthworm

“…The primary alcohol may be further oxidized to 3-phenoxybenzoic acid (PBCOOH) via 3-phenoxybenzaldehyde (PBCHO) (McCarthy et al, 2006). PB-COOH, the metabolite of several common pyrethroids which is widely found in the environment (Liu et al, 2015) and usually detected in urine (Trunnelle et al, 2014;Thiphom et al, 2014;Sun et al, 2014;Saito et al, 2014) can be used to assess the metabolic rate of pyrethroids.…”

Kinetics and Mechanism of Fenpropathrin Biodegradation by a Newly Isolated Pseudomonas aeruginosa sp. Strain JQ-41

“…Recent reports showed that residues of fenpropathrin have been detected in nearly all the tested samples of agricultural zones and urban area [11,13]. This situation also increased the potential of human exposure to the fenpropathrin which may damage to the reproductive system, nervous system, respiratory system, and immune system of human beings with developmental exposure [19,29]. Therefore, the need for effective measures to remove fenpropathrin from environment is urgent.…”