Immunotoxic Effects of Cypermethrin in Male Wistar Rats: Attenuation by Co-Administration of Zinc and Alpha-Lipoic Acid.
There are substantial evidences that pyrethroids create toxicities apart from their actions in the nervous system. Immune-insufficiency of allethrin, cypermethrin, fenpropathrin, permethrin was studied with regard to pyrethroid insecticides. The immune system comprising specialized, memorized complex cells, tissues and organs and they exhibit innate and adaptive responses
to protect organisms from different pathogens as well as to maintaining life processes. The relevant interaction between immune response alteration and stress are shown by various epidemiological and experimental studies. Synthetic pyrethroid might induce stress-like symptoms in experimental animals.
As important trace element zinc controls immune function and cell proliferation. Through metallothionein zinc potentiates antioxidant system that impedes oxidative stress facilitated
cell injury. According to Goel et al,19 pretreatment of zinc to chlorpyrifos intoxicated animals significantly improved the blood toxicity (at the dose level of 227 mg/L in drinking water). Andreeva-Gateva et al,20 evaluated the effect of alpha-lipoic acid (35 mg/kg i.p.) on brain oxidative stress (OS) in unilateral intrastriatal (6-OHDA) injected rats.
Another possible cause of leucocytosis may be the severe haemorrhages in liver and lungs.32 This increase may be related to an increase in lymphocyte percentage. These results indicated that zinc and lipoic acid might have a beneficial role in lowering pyrethroidstoxicity probably due to its radical scavenging property.
Interestingly, zinc and lipoic acid pre-treatment to cypermethrin intoxicated rats restored the levels of total as well as differential WBC count to the normal levels. These observations might also indicate that zinc and lipoic acid have therapeutic and beneficial effects on cypermethrin-mediated toxicity.
Toxicol Forensic Med Open J. 2021; 6(1): 1-8. doi: 10.17140/TFMOJ-6-135
