In vitro studies on the modulatory effects of nutraceuticals and gene polymorphisms on organophosphate pesticide-induced genotoxicity as analyzed by the comet assay

Malathion and parathion are organophosphate pesticides known for their high toxicity to insects and low to moderate toxicity to humans and other mammals. We studied the antigenotoxic potential of curcumin and carvacrol to combat malathion and parathion-induced DNA damage. Tail moment (TM) as measured by the comet assay was used as a biomarker of genotoxicity. To determine the antigenotoxic potential of curcumin and carvacrol, heparinized fresh blood from healthy individuals was treated with malathion (30 μg/ml) and parathion (2.5 μg/ml) in the presence of curcumin and carvacrol. Curcumin at concentrations of 25 and 50 μg/ml significantly reduced (p<0.05) TM compared to samples exposed to malathion only. Curcumin at concentrations of 10 and 15 μg/ml also exerted an antigenotoxic effect on parathion1Department of Biotechnology, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra 1136119, Haryana, India 2Department of Microbiology, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra 1136119, Haryana, India 3Department of Biochemistry, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra 1136119, Haryana, India Dr. Anita Yadav (Associate Professor), Department of Biotechnology, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra 136119, Haryana, India phone: +919416291480 fax: +91-1744-238277 exposed samples. Similarly, carvacrol at concentrations of 2.5 and 5.0 μg/ml showed a significant (p<0.05) protective effect against both pesticides. We observed a significant (p<0.05) reduction in TM when samples were treated with malathion and parathion in the presence of curcumin and carvacrol. We also studied the effect of polymorphisms of the genes GSTM1 and GSTT1 on the genotoxicity induced by both pesticides. However, we did not observe any significant association (p>0.05) of GSTM1 and GSTT1 polymorphisms with malathion and parathion genotoxicity.