The present study was designed to analyze organochlorine pesticide residues in the blood samples of the residents of Karachi. Biochemical and hematological parameters were tested thoroughly for changes as a result of organochlorine residues. In the blood samples which were drawn from both genders, organochlorine compounds like α -endosulfan (1.565 mg/kg) and β -endosulfan (1.233 mg/kg) were found in higher quantities and were the most frequently detected compounds. Average concentrations of the detected compounds (mg/kg) were: HCH (0.819); Cyclodienes (2.839); Diphenylaliphatics (0.240). An evident finding was the alteration in enzyme activity in higher residue samples. Levels of GPT, GOT, ALP, Choline-esterase and γ -GT were tested in all samples and observed major shifts in the upper and lower limits in high residue samples as compared with the normal values. Analysis of the blood parameters were carried out thoroughly and checked the levels of TLC, RBC, Hb, Hct, MCV, MCH, MCHC, Platelets and differential leucocytes (Neutrophils, Lympho cytes, Eosinophils and Monocytes) but found no distinct changes and hence no convincing relation was observed. Results of the present investigation of OCs in different blood sera indicated that bioconcentration and biomagnification of these chemicals were common phenomena in the population of Karachi city and this may be accountable for a variety of diseases and health hazards.
KeywordsOrganochlorineEnzymesBlood Parameters
Technical Bulletin (2000) Directorate of pest warning and quality control of pesticides. Punjab.
Poswal, M.A. and Williamson, S. (1998) Stepping off the cotton pesticide treadmill: Preliminary findings from a farmer’s participatory in Pakistan. CABI Bioscience centre, Rawalpindi.
Wilson, C. and Tisdell, C. (2001) Why farmers continue to use pesticides despite environmental, health and sustainability costs. Ecological Economics, 39, 449-462. doi:10.1016/S0921-8009(01)00238-5
Sankararamakrishnan, N., Sharma, A.K. and Sanghi, R. (2005) Organochlorine and organophosphorous pesticide residues in groundwater and surface waters of Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. Environment International, 31, 113-120. doi:10.1016/j.envint.2004.08.001
PPSGDP (2002) Environmental assessment and water quality monitoring program. Irrigation and Power Development, Government of the Punjab, Pakistan Technical Report 54. Punjab Private Sector Groundwater Development Project, Punjab.
Economic Survey of Pakistan (2006) Finance Division, Government of Pakistan, Islamabad.
WHO/UNCEP (1990) Public health impact of pesticides used in agriculture. Working Group, Geneva.
Naqvi, S.N.H. and Jahan, M. (1999) Pesticide residues in serum and blood samples of the people of Karachi. Journal of Environmental Biology, 20, 241-244.
Parveen, Z. and Masud, S.Z. (2001) Studies of pesticide residues in human blood. Pakistan Journal of Science and Industrial Research, 44, 137-141.
Azmi, M.A., Naqvi, S.N.H. and Azmi, M.A. (2005) Pesticide residues in the blood of rural population from Gadap, Karachi and related health hazards. Journal of Experimental Zoology India, 8, 343-351.
Venkataraman, B.V., Rani, M.A., Andrade, C. and Joseph, T. (1994) Correlation of time course of blood cholinesterase activity and toxic manifestations of acute methyl parathion in antidote treated rats. Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology, 38, 214-216.
Khan, M.F., Khan, M.I., Aslam M. and Naqvi, S.N.H. (2000) Study of cholinesterase level in blood of cotton field workers exposed to pesticides. Journal of Baqai Medical University, 3, 12-16.
Akhtar, K. and Naqvi, S.N.H. (2001) Determination of DDT by GLC in different strains of Musca domestica by using hexane as well as diethyl ether. Turkish Journal of Zoology, 25, 77-81.
Khan, M.Z., Naqvi, S.N.H., Khan, M.F., Rahila, T., Ahmed, I. and Earina, F. (2002) Induced effect of Biosal on GOT and GPT in wildlife species of Agama lizard Calotes versicolor. Pakistan Journal of Biological Sciences, 4, 611-612.
Azmi, M.A., Naqvi, S.N.H., Azmi, M.A. and Aslam, M. (2006) Effects of pesticide residues on health and different enzyme kevels in the blood of farm workers from Gadap (rural area) Karachi―Pakistan. Chemosphere, 64, 1739-1744. doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2006.01.016
Fujishiro, K., Imazu, K., Makita, Y. and Inoue, N. (1994) Liver injury induced by dichloropropanols changes in the time course on hematological and blood chemical examinations. Fukuoka. Igaku Zasshi, 85, 247-250.
Dunstan, R.H., Roberts, T.K., Donohoe, M., McGregor, N.R., Hope, D., Taylor, W.G., Watkins, J.A., Murdoch, R.N. and Butt, H.L. (1996) Bioaccumulated chlorinated hydrocarbons and red/white blood cell parameters. Biochemical and Molecular Medicine, 58, 77-84. doi:10.1006/bmme.1996.0035
Fujitani, T., Tada, Y., Noguchi, A.T. and Yoneyama, M. (1997) Hemotoxicity of chloroform (CIPC) in F344 rats. Toxicology, 123, 111-124. doi:10.1016/S0300-483X(97)00113-3
Davis, D.L., Bradlow, H.L., Wolff, M., Woodruff, T., Hoel, D.G. and Anton-Culver, H. (1993) Medical hypothesis: Xenoestrogens as preventable causes of breast cancer. Environmental Health Perspectives, 101, 372-377. doi:10.1289/ehp.93101372
McDuffie, H. (1994) Women at work-agriculture and pesticides. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 36, 1240-1246. doi:10.1097/00043764-199411000-00012
Kristensen, P., Irgens, I.M., Andersen, A., Bye, A.S. and Sundheim, L. (1997) Birth defects among offspring of Norwegian farmers, 1967-1991. Epidemiology, 8, 537-544. doi:10.1097/00001648-199709000-00011
Gray, L.E., Ostby, J., Furr, J., Wolf, C.J., Lambright, C. and Parks, L. (2001) Effect of environmental antianderogens on reproductive development in experimental animals. Human Reproduction Update, 7, 248-264. doi:10.1093/humupd/7.3.248
Frias, M.M., Frenich, A.G., Martinez Vidal, J.L., Sanchez, M.M., Olea, F. and Olea, N. (2001) Analyses of lindane, vinclozolin, aldrin, p,p′-DDE, o,p′-DDT and p,p′-DDT in human serum using gas chromatography with electron capture detection and tandem mass spectrometry. Journal of Chromatography B, 760, 1-15.
Tariq, M., Afzal, S., Hussain, I. and Sultana, N. (2007) Pesticides exposure in Pakistan: A review. Environment International, 33, 1107-112. doi:10.1016/j.envint.2007.07.012
Smith, D. (1998) Worldwide trends in DDT levels in human breast milk. International Journal of Epidemiology, 28, 179-188. doi:10.1093/ije/28.2.179
Ejaz, S., Akram. W., Lim. C.W.J.J. and Hussain, I. (2004) Endocrine disrupting pesticides: A leading cause of cancer among rural people in Pakistan. Experimental Oncology, 26, 98-105.
Subramaniam, K. and Solomon, RD.J. (2006) Organochlorine pesticides BHC and DDE in human blood in and around Madurai, India. Indian Journal of Clinical Biochemistry, 21, 169-172.
Zumbado, M., Goethals, M., Alvarez-leon, E.E., Luzardo, O.P., Cabrera, F., Serra-Majem, L. and Dominguez-Boada, L. (2005) Inadvertent exposure to organochlorine pesticides DDT and derivatives in people from the Canary Islands (Spain). Science of the Total Environment, 339, 49-62. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2004.07.022
Kutz, F.W., Yobs, A.R. and Strassman, S.C. (1976) Organochlorine pesticide residues in human adipose tissues. Bull Soc. Pharmacol. Environ. Pathol., 4, 17-19.
Duarte-Davidson, R., Wilson, S.C. and Jones, K.C. (1994) PCBs and other organochlorines in human tissue samples from the Welsh population: II-milk. Environmental Pollution, 84, 79-87. doi:10.1016/0269-7491(94)90073-6
Hayes, W.J., Dale, W.E. and Pirkle, C.I. (1971) Evidence of safety of long-term, high, oral doses of DDT for man. Archives of Environmental Health, 22, 119-135. doi:10.1080/00039896.1971.10665822
Morgan, D.P. and Roan, C.C. (1974) The metabolism of DDT in man. Essays in Toxicology, 5, pp. 39-97.
Sanpera, C., Ruiz, X., Llorente, G.A., Jover, L. and Jabeen, R. (2002) Persistent organochlorine compounds in sediment and biota from the Haleji Lake: A wild life sanctuary in south Pakistan. Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 68, 237-244. doi:10.1007/s001280244
Tariq, M.I., Afzal, S. and Hussain, I. (2006) Degradation and persistence of cotton pesticides in sandy loam soils from Punjab, Pakistan. Environmental Research, 100, 184-196. doi:10.1016/j.envres.2005.05.002
Abrahams, P.W. (2002) Soils: Their implications to human health. Science of the Total Environment, 291, 1-32. doi:10.1016/S0048-9697(01)01102-0
Burauel, P. and Bassmann, F. (2005) Soil as filter and buffer for pesticides―Experimental concept to understand soil functions. Environmental Pollution, 133, 11-16. doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2004.04.011
WHO (1979). DDT and its derivatives. Environment Health Criteria, 9, WHO, Geneva.
Parveen, Z., Afridi, I.A.K., Masud, S.Z. and Baig, M.M.H. (1996) Monitoring of multiple pesticides in cotton seeds during three crop seasons. Pakistan Journal of Science and Industrial Research, 39, 146-149.
Parveen, Z., Khuhro, M.I., Rafiq, N. and Kasuar, N. (2004) Evaluation of multiple pesticide residues in apple and citrus fruits, 1999-2000. Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 73, 312-318. doi:10.1007/s00128-004-0429-6
Hussain, S., Masud, T. and Ahad, K. (2002) Determination of pesticides in selected varieties of mango. Pakistan Journal of Nutrition, 1, 41-42. doi:10.3923/pjn.2002.41.42
Munshi, A.B., Detlef, S.-B., Schneider, R. and Zuberi, R. (2004) Organochlorine concentrations in various fish from different locations at Karachi coast. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 49, 597-601. doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2004.03.019
Saqib, T.A., Naqvi, S.N.H., Siddiqui, P.A. and Azmi, M.A. (2005) Detection of pesticide residues in muscles, liver and fat of 3 species of Labeo found in Kalri and Haleji lakes. Journal of Environmental Biology, 26, 433-438.
Ahad, K., Hayat, Y., Ahmad, I. and Soomro, M.H. (2001) Capillary chromatographic determination of pesticide residues in ground water of Mardan division. Nucleus, 38, 145-149.
Ahad, K., Mohammad, A., Mehboob, F., Sattar, A. and Ahmad, I. (2006) Pesticide residues in Rawal Lake, Islamabad, Pakistan. Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 76, 463-470. doi:10.1007/s00128-006-0944-8
Tariq, M.I., Afzal, S. and Hussain, I. (2004) Pesticides in shallow groundwater of Bahawalnagar, Muzafargarh, D.G. Khan and Rajan Pur districts of Punjab, Pakistan. Environment International, 30, 471-479. doi:10.1016/j.envint.2003.09.008
Daily Dawn News Paper (2009) February 15, 2009.
Gearhart, J.M., Jepson, G.W., Clewell, H.J., Andersen, M.E. and Conolly R.B. (1994) Physiologically based pharmacokinetic model for the inhibition of acetylcholinesterase by organophosphate esters. Environmental Health Perspectives, 102, 51-60.
Bushnell, P.J., Kelly, K.L. and Ward, T.R. (1994) Repeated inhibition of cholinesterase by chlorpyrifos in rats: Behavioral, neurochemical and pharmacological indices of tolerance. The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, 270, 15-25.
Husin, L.S., Uttaman, A., Hisham, H.J., Hssain, I.H. and Jamil, M.R. (1999) The effects of pesticides on the activity of serum cholinesterase and current perception threshold on the paddy farmers in the Muda agricultural development area, MADA, Kedah, Malaysia. The Medical Journal of Malaysia, 54, 320-324.
Ohayo-Mitoko, G.J., Kromhout, H., Simwa, J.M., Boleji, J.S. and Heederik, D. (2000) Self reported symptoms and inhibition of acetyl-cholinesterase activity among Kenyan agricultural workers. Occupational & Environmental Medicine, 57, 195-200. doi:10.1136/oem.57.3.195
Azmi, M.A., Naqvi, S.N.H., Azmi, M.A. and Aslam, M. (2006) Effects of pesticide residues on health and differrent enzyme kevels in the blood of farm workers from Gadap (rural area) Karachi—Pakistan. Chemosphere, 64, 1739-1744. doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2006.01.016
Khalaf-Allah, S.S. (1999) Effects of pesticide water pollution on some hematological, biochemical and immunological parameters in Tilapia nilotica fish. Deutsche Tierarztliche Wochenschrift, 106, 67-71.
El-Saeed, W.Y. and Hassan, M.H. (2000) Chronic Lymphocytic leukemia in Egyptain farm workers exposed to pesticides. East Mediterrian Health Journal, 5, 960-966.