Toxicity of Insecticide Carrier Solvent: Effect of Xylene on Hemolymph Biochemical Parameters in Blaberus giganteus L.

Abstract

Xylene is an aromatic hydrocarbon occurring naturally in petroleum, coal, and wood tar. It is one of the top 30 chemicals produced in the United States in terms of volume. The annual production of xylene is estimated to be 16 million tons. Xylene is widely used as a solvent for paints, lacquers, glues, and pesticides, as well as in histological laboratories. Xylene is also found in airplane fuel, gasoline, and cigarette smoke [1-2]. In Poland, the threshold limit value for workers is 100 mg/m 3. It was estimated that hospital laboratory workers may be exposed to xylene in concentrations reaching 1,740 mg/m 3 , while printing house workers may be exposed to xylene in concentrations of about 130 mg/m 3 [3]. One can also come into contact with xylene through cigarette smoke, paints, automobile exhaust, and a variety of other consumer products [2]. Commercial products contain non-insecticidal ingredients that act as adjuvants, solvents, emulsifiers, or preservatives and which are not needed to be identified on the product label unless classified as highly toxic [4]. Many insecticide formulations contain 25 to 75 percent of solvent mixtures, and xylene and other aromatic hydrocarbons are frequently employed as solvents in pesticide concentrates [5]. Brattsten and Wilkinson [6] in experiments performed on southern armyworm demonstrated that, paradoxically, the carrier solvent in which the insecticide is formulated may aid in the

Constitutive expression and discovery of antimicrobial peptides in Zygogramma bicolorata (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

“…18 The lipid peroxidation was determined by the TBA test and measured spectrophotometrically at 532 nm as described by Maliszewska and Tęgowska. 19 The concentration of MDA is calculated by using the extinction coefficient of 1.56 Â 105 M À1 cm À1 .…”