ABSTRACT
Dichlorvos dichlorvos [2, 2 dichlorovinyl dimethylphosphate (DDVP)] pesticide self-poisoning is an important clinical problem in the developing world, and kills an estimated 200,000 people every year. It is widely used as a household pest control, in public health, and protecting stored products from insects. This study was conducted with the aim of assessing the biochemical changes of male Albino rats exposed to Dichlorvos for 28 days. Twelve (12) male albino rats were used for this experiment, their weights ranged from 256-386g, and they were gotten from the animal house of the Department of Biochemistry, University of Benin. The rats were acclimatized for 7 days before the experiment commenced on the 8th day and were fed with poultry food pellets and water throughout the study. The rats were divided into 4 groups, with no treatment of DDVP for the control group, 2mg/ml of DDVP as low dose, 4mg/ml of DDVP as medium dose and 8mg/ml of DDVP as high dose, of which 3 Male adult rats were in each group. On the 8th day, after the rats were weighed, the pesticide DDVP was prepared and administered to the rats according to their groups and weights, this was done for 28 days. On the 29th day, blood samples was collected by inserting a syringe into the jugular vein and taking 2mls of blood and put in EDTA bottles. Biochemical test parameters were performed using the serum of the blood. The test parameters include Total Protein, Albumin, Cholesterol, Triglycerides, Aspartate Transaminase (AST), Alkaline phosphatase (ALP), Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT), Urea, Creatinine, High-density lipoprotein (HDL) and Bilirubin levels. Results obtained from this study revealed that there was no significant difference (p>0.05) for all the biochemical parameters with exception of Albumin and ALP concentrations which had significant difference (p<0.05) compared with control. There was no significant increase in the total bilirubin levels, direct bilirubin levels, HDL, creatinine, urea, triglyceride, total protein and albumin concentrations. A significant increase was observed in the cholesterol concentrations in the blood of toxicant administered rats when compared to their control groups in different groups. The study indicated that low dose exposure of the rats to dichlorvos pesticides can cause less impact to biochemical parameters and lesser damages to organs. Alhough increasing levels in living systems calls for concern. As such, there is need for proper enlightenment on the use of harmful chemicals such as dichlorvos for the preservation of food grains during agricultural practices and in homes as insecticides.
