Evaluation of Genetic DNA damage in the agricultural workers exposed to combined action of pesticides in Jonia area of Barpeta district of Assam
Abstract
The use of pesticide is increasing day by day and it causes a serious concern to the human health, especially some pesticides causes’ deleterious effect causing Cancer. Genotoxicity test has a special significance because it is one of the tests for cancer research and risk assessment. The sprayer has more risk because they directly cause in contact with pesticides. Pesticides may affect the DNA of the body cells of the sprayer and known to cause DNA damage. In this case control study DNA damage due to exposure of pesticides by the Agricultural workers of Jonia area of Barpeta district were assessed using the Comet assay. The result showed that the exposed workers had greater mean comet tail length than those of control i.e. 17.69±5.25 versus 10.72±7.89 (p=0.0034, t=3.8206). Among control group, smokers of exposed group have greater tail length than smokers of control group. When DNA damage in the form of comet tail length and frequency of blood leucocytes showing migration were further evaluated in study group. It was observed that although it is more in elders, vegetarian, alcoholics and smokers but it was it was found significant only in smokers than non smokers. Therefore the present studies suggest that exposure of pesticides and smoking habits may cause DNA damage.
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Introduction
The increasing use of pesticides drastically effect daily in the environment, these pesticides are release in the environment daily as a large scale and many of them have drastic effect on non-target species as well as represent a potential hazard to the human health.
Pesticides induced to breaking DNA and thus the affect of DNA replicate and its ability to carry information. 1,2 DNA damage cause instability in multiple pathways which can be considered as strategy for risk assessment and it is a reliable biomarker.
In the bio-monitoring studies, comet assay has been used rapidly as a sensitive tool that demonstrate damaging effect of different compounds on DNA at the individual cell level.3 Cells with damaged DNA display increased migration of DNA fragments from nucleus, generating a comet shape. 4,5 At present comet assay has been used in occupational studies as well as molecular epidemiological studies to evaluate genotoxic effect of pesticides in human population. The aim of the present study is to find out the relation between the occupational exposure of different kinds of pesticides and DNA damage in individual directly spraying the pesticides in the agricultural field.
Conclusion
It can be concluded that pesticides is the vital factor of DNA damage and it increases with its duration of exposure. Although there was more DNA damage in elders, vegetarian, alcoholics and smokers but it was it was found significant only in smokers than non smokers. So this present studies suggest that exposure of pesticides and smoking habits may cause DNA damage.