Craniofacial ossification in rat fetuses following prenatal exposure to dimethoate and carbosulfan insecticides

ABSTRACT

Pesticides, including insecticides, occupy a unique position among many chemicals that man encounters daily for the purpose of pest control in all agricultural programs. In fact, most of such chemicals are not highly selective and constitute potential hazard to many non-target species including man and other animals. The present study aimed to study the teratogenic effects of both dimethoate and carbosulfan insecticides on the ossification of craniofacial bones in albino rat fetuses. In this study, fifty female albino rats were allocated to ten groups [5/each group]; control, low dose dimethoate 1/40 LD50 [8.25 mg/kg], medium dose dimethoate 1/20 LD5O [16.5 mg/kg], high dose dimethoate 1/10 LD50 [33 mg/kg], low dose carbosulfan 1/40 LD50 [5.2 mg/kg], medium dose carbosulfan 1/20 LD50 [10.45 mg/kg], high dose carbosulfan 1/40 LD50 [20.9 mg/kg], mixed low doses of dimethoate and carbosulfan, mixed medium doses of dimethoate and carbosulfan, and mixed high doses of dimethoate and carbosulfan. Animals of all groups were sacrificed in the morning of 20[th] day of gestation. Then all specimens were stained with alizarin red stain for evaluation of ossification of skeletal system. The results of the present study revealed that both dimethoate and carbosulfan insecticides, had a deleterious effect on the ossification of craniofacial bones and that the most affected bones were supraoccipital, presphenoid, and interparietal bones. These effects were marked in the high doses and mixed low dose groups. It is concluded that the deleterious effects were increased with the increasing dose of either dimethoate or carbosulfan insecticides and that the mixture of low doses had an effect near to that of medium and sometimes high doses