Assessment of Some Oxidative Stress Markers in Humans Exposed to Pesticides in Okagwe and Ihe-Nta, Abia State, Nigeria

Aim: To assess the levels of some oxidative stress markers in humans exposed to pesticides in Okagwe and Ihe-Nta, Abia State, Nigeria.

Study Design: A cross-sectional study.

Place and Duration of Study: Abia-ADP, Ohafia Zone and Department of Biochemistry, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria, between August 2018 and September 2021.

Methodology: A total of 160 human subjects participated in this study. They consisted of 80 pesticides exposed agricultural workers in open field and 80 non-exposed volunteers, who served as control subjects. All the participants gave written informed consent, while the Ministry of Agriculture, Abia State, Nigeria gave Ethical Approval for this study. Venous blood samples were collected from all participants and dispensed into plain sample containers. The blood samples were allowed to clot and were centrifuged to obtain serum samples, which were used to determine oxidative stress markers: superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), catalase (CAT), glutathione (GSH), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), vitamin A, C and E and acetylcholinesterase (AChE). Data generated were subjected to statistical analysis using IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 23, and results were considered statistically significant at P<.05.

Results: There were significant decrease (P<.05) in serum SOD 40.38 ± 2.81 (IU/L), CAT 63.52 ± 7.04 (IU/L), AChE 1.43 ± 0.46 (n/ml), GSH, 62.19 ± 6.54 (n/ml), vitamin A 3.23 ± 0.83 (IU/L), vitamin C 0.74 ± 0.38 (IU/L), vitamin E 4.27 ± 0.91 (IU/L), GPx 211.78 ± 27.95 (IU/L) in pesticide exposed agricultural workers compared to the values for the control subjects.

Conclusion: This study showed that there was oxidative stress, evidenced by the significant increases in measured oxidative stress parameters in human subjects exposed to pesticides in Okagwe and Ihe-Nta communities.