Monocrotophos–induced enzymatic changes as toxicity bio-markers in Wistar Rat liver

Monocrotophos is an organophosphate pesticide used in agriculture to control a range of insect pests. The aim of this study was to investigate the sub-lethal toxicity of the pesticide at different concentrations on rat liver. Experimental animals were chronically exposed to different concentrations of monocrotophos (0.625, 1.25, 2.5, 5.0 and 10.0 ml/kg body weight/day p.o.) for 14 days. The control rats were placed on borehole water devoid of pesticide. The toxic potential was evaluated using transaminases as bio-markers. Oral administration of the pesticide significantly increased the hepatosomatic index of the animals when compared with the control after 14 days of treatment. A significant reduction was also observed in the activities of aspartate transaminase (AST) and alanine transaminase (ALT) in the liver, which were significantly increased in the serum in a concentration dependent manner following ingestion of the pesticide. The findings from the present study showed that exposure to monocrotophos may compromise normal functioning of the liver.