title: Evaluation of toxicity of pesticides and their biodegradation products using human cells.
abstract: Juvenoids are biologically active compounds, of relatively low toxicity to humans, that efficiently inhibit the fertility of insects. However, little attention has been paid to the stability and toxicity of products that may be generated by their biodegradation in the ecosystem. This study describes a simple comparison of the toxicity of the active compound and its degradation products generated by aerobic soil microbial isolates. Surprisingly we have found that toxicity of a biologically active carbamate juvenoid N-[2-[4-(2,2-ethylenedioxy-1-cyclohexylmethyl)-phenoxylethyl]carbamate (W328) was comparable with that of 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane (DDT). The toxic effect was evaluated using the determination of the ATP/ADP content and viability of HeLa S3 cells exposed to various concentrations of the chemicals tested for various durations. DDT was used as a reference compound. Its toxicity was compared with two juvenile hormone analogs. The original compound, W328, was found to be the most toxic. The major product (W329) generated both by yeast isolates and the mixture of moulds lost its activity on reproduction of the tested insect. Its toxicity towards human cells was also decreased. Another two W328 degradation HPLC fractions exhibited significantly reduced toxicity compared to W328.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Institute of Chemical Technology, Centre for Integrated Genomics, Prague, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Stanislav
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Forman
authors.forename: Jaroslav
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Novák
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tykva
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kás
authors.forename: Zdenek
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wimmer
authors.forename: Tomás
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ruml
mesh_terms: D000244:Adenosine Diphosphate / Q000032:analysis; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000032:analysis; D000818:Animals; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D015415:Biomarkers; D002219:Carbamates; D002470:Cell Survival; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D007313:Insecta; D007306:Insecticides / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity*; D007605:Juvenile Hormones; D012098:Reproduction / Q000187:drug effects; D015003:Yeasts
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D002219:Carbamates; D007306:Insecticides; D007605:Juvenile Hormones; D000244:Adenosine Diphosphate; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate