Cytotoxicity of short-term exposure to sublethal dose of the insecticide thiamethoxam to male albino rats.

Objective: Thiamethoxam (TMX) is a systemic insecticide used to combat plant pests that might significantly affect food security. Therefore, the current study aimed to evaluate its mammalian toxicity against male albino rats following short-term administration of sublethal doses. Methods: Two groups, control and treatment rats (eight males each), were orally administered distilled water and 1/20 LD50 (78.0 mg/kg B.W.) doses of TMX daily for 14 days. The biochemical, hematological, genotoxic, and histopathological responses were subsequently described. Results: The results revealed significant decreases in the specific activities of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE), and Mg+-ATPase in the TMX-treated rats compared to those in the control group. Additionally, alterations in blood parameters were reported for treated individuals. Significant increases in the number of tailings (14%), tail length (3.43 µm), tail DNA (3.62%), and tail moment (12.56%) as well as the frequency of micronucleated erythrocytes (MNs) were found in the TMX-treated animals. Moreover, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of blood samples revealed swollen mitochondria with light-dense cristae, vacuoles (V), nuclei (N) (contained migrated chromatin), and rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER) in comparison to the firm structure of the negative control. Conclusion: TMX exposure, especially at low doses, is an alarming sign of possible health hazards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]