Year: 2025 | Month: August | Volume: 15 | Issue: 8 | Pages: 264-276
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52403/ijhsr.20250831
Genotoxic Effects of Mosquito-Cypermethrin Insecticide Exposures on Sprague-Dawley Male Rats Up to Second Filial Generations
Charles Chijioke Dike1, Hugh Clifford Chima Maduka2, Samuel Chukwuemeka Meludu3, Sebastine Okechukwu Nwoko4
1Senior Lecturer, 2Professor, 3Professor, 4Lecturer
Department of Human Biochemistry, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nnewi Campus, PMB 5025, Anambra State, Nigeria.
Corresponding Author: Charles Chijioke Dike
ABSTRACT
Background and Objectives: Cypermethrin insecticide has been used in many countries to control malaria and is known to cause several detrimental features. This work has so far investigated the genotoxic effects of mosquito-cypermethrin insecticide exposures on Sprague-Dawley male rats up to second filial generations. The scope of this study covers evaluation of biomarkers of DNA damages, oxidative stress and antioxidant status of Sprague-Dawley male rats. This study aimed to investigate the genotoxic effects of cypermethrin insecticide exposure on the first (F-1) and second (F-2) filial generations of Sprague-Dawley male rats. This study was conducted at the Human Biochemistry Research Laboratory, Nnamdi Azikiwe University (NAU), Nnewi Campus, Anambra State, Nigeria.
Methods: The research involved 18 male Sprague-Dawley rats, aged approximately 12 weeks and weighing 180-200 g. The rats were divided into control and experimental groups. Key biomarkers, including serum 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-O-HdG), malondialdehyde (MDA), cortisol, and antioxidant levels, were assessed using spectrophotometric techniques.
Results: Results demonstrated significant increases in 8-OHdG, cortisol, and MDA concentrations in the exposed groups (P < 0.05), indicating elevated oxidative stress and hence, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) damage. Moreover, total antioxidant capacity (TAC) was significantly reduced (P < 0.05) in the F-1 generation, alongside decreased catalase activity, glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and reduced glutathione (GSH) levels in both F-1 and F-2 litters (P < 0.05), hence, depleted antioxidant status. Major findings in this work include; oxidative stress induced by cypermethrin exposures, depleted antioxidant levels, and DNA damage.
Conclusions: These findings suggest that cypermethrin exposure might have induced genotoxic effects through damages on DNA induced by oxidative stress in Sprague-Dawley male rats, impacting up to the second filial generation. The exposure may have been dependent on dosage.
Key words: Antioxidants, cypermethrin, generations, mosquitoes, rats, toxicity