The presence of pesticides in the environment is highly toxic to environment and human health. Aim of the study was determination, quantification and assessment of associated health risk due to presence of pesticide residues in chicken eggs using high pressure liquid chromatography. HPLC method was successfully employed and validated. From collected samples pesticides were extracted in presence of petroleum ether and acetonitrile. Bifenthrin and Difenoconazole residues were found in all samples with different concentration exceeding maximum residue limits (MRL) of Codex Alimentarius Commission. However imidacloprid was not detected in any sample. Concentration of bifenthrin in house egg samples ranged from 0.256206 to 4.112387 mg/kg while in poultry farm samples it varied from 1.5862 to 5.80796 mg/kg. Difenoconazole was found in concentration of 0.02835 mg/kg, 1.7668 mg/kg, 3.7205 mg/kg, 21.8937 mg/kg 21.9835 mg/kg, 19.26407 mg/kg in samples collected from houses while and in poultry farm samples its detected concentration was 10.939 mg/kg, 12.3296 mg/kg, 29.3617 mg/kg, 18.6116 mg/kg, 40.0523 mg/kg and 19.2335 mg/kg. Concentrations of both pesticides Bifenthrin and Difenoconazole exceeded the MRLs (0.05 mg/kg). Health risk index surpassed 1 (the cut off value) for Difenoconazole in seven samples while for Bifenthrin values were less than 1, indicating the possibility of potential medium to long term health risk associated with ingestion of contaminated eggs.

Heavy metal exposure promotes oxidative stress in terrestrial organisms, which they counteract via activation of antioxidant biomarkers. The present study investigated the effects of copper (Cu) and lead (Pb) on total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and antioxidant enzymes such as Catalase (CAT), Glutathione reductase (GR), Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and Glutathione peroxidase (GPX) in two spider species, namely Lycosa terrestris and Pardosa birmanica. The spiders were exposed to Cu and Pb separately (10 ppm) or in combination (10 ppm each) via different exposure routes (i.e. food and soil) for 10, 20 and 40 days. The results showed that metal accumulation and antioxidant biomarker responses in spiders were metal-and speciesspecific, and depended on the exposure route of the metals. The level of all antioxidant biomarkers increased significantly with increasing exposure time and metal load in the bodies of spiders via both uptake routes. The significant inhibition of TAC and enzyme activities was only observed in single Pb treatment through soil exposure. In L. terrestris, the activities of detoxification enzymes and TAC were significantly enhanced on single Cu exposure than Pb via both exposure routes. However, in P. birmanica consistent variation among antioxidant parameters were observed depending on the metal load and exposure routes. The combined metal exposure caused more pronounced increase in the level of antioxidants compared to single metal exposure in both species mainly via food exposure. These results suggest that the antioxidant enzymes and TAC are sensitive to single and combined metal exposure via both uptake routes. Furthermore, the antioxidant parameters can be used potential biomarkers of oxidative stress induced by metal exposure and for monitoring environmental health using spiders as bioindicators.

Phenolic compounds in prickly pear [Opuntia ficus indica (L.) Mill.] are known to contribute to the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of the prickly pear. The present study aimed to evaluate the antioxidants and in vitro antimicrobial potential in the hydroethanolic extracts of different parts (fruit, cladode, and pulp) of prickly pear. Different polyphenolic compounds were analyzed by using high‐performance liquid chromatography. The results indicated that cladode possessed a higher quantity of phenolics compared with that observed in fruit and pulp. The most important phenolic compound in high quantity was gallic acid (66.19 μg/g) in cladode. The 100% aqueous extract of cladode exhibited the highest antioxidant (92%) and antimicrobial activities against Salmonella typhi (3.40 mg/ml), Helicobacter pylori (1.37 mg/ml), Escherichia coli (1.41 mg/ml), and Staphylococcus aureus (1.41 mg/ml). Principal component analysis (PCA) indicated that antioxidant activity and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) responses had a significant negative correlation with each other. Overall, the current results provided basic data for choosing prickly pear cladode with high antioxidant capacity for the development and consumption of antioxidant‐based alternative medicines and value addition of formulated foods.

There are major concerns regarding the environmental and human health risks caused by exposure to heavy metals. Spiders are often used as a model in ecotoxicological studies to assess soil pollution. In present study, we measured the bioaccumulation of copper (Cu) and lead (Pb) in spiders, Lycosa terrestris and Pardosa birmanica by ICP-MS. We determined whether Cu and Pb accumulation differed in (i) different spider species, (ii) single compared to combined exposure, and (iii) routes of exposure. Spiders were exposed to 10mM CuSO4 and 10mM PbCl2 solutions separately or combined (10mM+10mM) through different exposure routes i.e. spiked soil and food for 6 weeks. Effect of metals on survival and body mass of exposed and unexposed (control) spiders was determined. In both spider species, accumulation of metals increased with exposure time. In single metal exposure, Cu accumulation from food was higher than soil exposure in both spiders species, whereas the opposite was observed for Pb. In combined treatment, the uptake of both metals significantly decreased from similar accumulation routes. L. terrestris accumulated higher concentration of metals than P. birmanica during soil exposure. Metal exposure via contaminated food caused higher mortality compared to soil exposure. Body mass of both spider species was significantly decreased and negatively correlated with metal's concentration. These results suggest that bioaccumulation efficiency of Cu and Pb differs significantly in spiders exposed to metal's mixture compared to a single metal exposure, and is dependent on exposure route, type of metal and spider species.More understanding of the effect of exposure to metal mixture and exposure routes may help to improve risk assessment and ecological monitoring programs.