Potential Environmental Health Risk Analysis of Neonicotinoids and a Synergist

Abstract

The extensive use of neonicotinoid pesticides has led to their widespread presence in the environment, resulting in considerable safety risks to the ecosystem and human health. In this study, we investigated the biotransformation behavior of a cocktail of multiple neonicotinoids and piperonyl butoxide (PBO) synergist in vivo and their potential environmental health risk. It was found that neonicotinoids with a cyano group, such as acetamiprid and thiacloprid, tended to accumulate in liver and spleen tissues, while others with nitro groups (imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, clothianidin, dinotefuran, and nitenpyram) were mostly excreted in urine. In the presence of the synergist PBO, the metabolism of neonicotinoids in vivo changed, mainly through the nitro reduction pathway, while a low abundance of related metabolites was observed in the conventional hydroxylation and demethylation metabolic pathways, due to inhibition of CYP450 enzymes by the synergist. Furthermore, DNA methylation damage in vivo was exacerbated by the induction of hydroxylamine metabolites formed in the intermediate process of neonicotinoid metabolism with the synergistic effect of PBO, which resulted in a higher level of the O 6 -methyldeoxyguanosine (O 6 -medG) biomarker in the liver. Therefore, during the comprehensive evaluation of pesticide environmental risks, attention should be paid not only to the co-exposure mode under real environmental conditions but also to the potential risks of intermediate metabolism and related intermediate metabolites. This study provides a referential strategy and theoretical support for the health risk assessment of co-exposure of chemicals.

Transcriptomics and Metabolomics for Co-Exposure to a Cocktail of Neonicotinoids and the Synergist Piperonyl Butoxide

“…However, compared with the rats exposed to NE, co-exposure of rats to Neo and PBO induced a dose-dependent decrease in body weight from NE 461.5 ± 36.8 g to NPL 435.23 ± 39.75 g to NPH 419.9 ± 34.89 g (Figure B–D). Significant pathologic changes were also observed, as seen in our previous study . The NPL group exhibited spotty necrosis with swollen cellular nuclei and steatosis in hepatocytes.…”

“…The study was approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of Jiangnan University and conducted in accordance with the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals published in China. It should be emphasized that the model and samples used in the present experiment were based on a previous model . Fifty-six male adolescent Sprague–Dawley rats (4 weeks of age) were purchased from the Charles River Laboratory (Suzhou, China) and raised under standard conditions in a specific pathogen-free environment, with an acclimation period of 1 week prior to the experiments.…”

“…Therefore, we investigated the exposure of Sprague–Dawley rats to a mixture of seven Neo-based compounds and a mixture of Neo and PBO. Our previous research demonstrated that the presence of PBO enhanced the biotransformation of nitro-Neo, limiting hydroxylation and demethylation in the metabolic pathway, which caused anabatic DNA methylation damage via the production of intermediate Neo hydroxylamine metabolites . However, the change in the endogenous toxicity profiles and conclusions about the health risks of this type of co-exposure remain unknown.…”

Sex-Dependent Environmental Health Risk Analysis of Flupyradifurone

“…Chemical pollutants, including pesticides, have deleterious impacts on the environment and human health. − Although pesticides are important to community hygiene and the agricultural industry, overuse can lead to pesticide resistance and threatens nontargeted organisms, − including humans, via endocrine dysfunction, reproductive disorders, and carcinogenesis. − …”

A colloidal gold immunochromatography for the detection of flumioxazin residues in fruits

“…Most organic synthetic herbicides can affect the biosynthesis of plants, disturb the metabolism of plants, and kill them (Fuchs et al., 2021; Ninkuu et al., 2021). However, the residual herbicides can also pollute the environment and bring potential threats to human health while killing weeds (Xu et al., 2020 2021,2022).…”