a Department of Zoology, Genetics and Molecular Biology Laboratory , University of North Bengal , Darjeeling , India.
Biomarkers. 2019 Jun;24(4):317-324. doi: 10.1080/1354750X.2018.1556342. Epub 2019 Jan 11.
Pesticide poisoning and related deaths are a global concern, but there is little information about its effect on the occupationally exposed tea garden workers of North Bengal. This study investigates the level of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) in the blood of the tea garden workers at risk of exposure to a mixture of pesticides. The study sample consisted of pesticide exposed workers, non-exposed (control), smokers and alcoholics. AChE and BuChE activity was measured and tested for significance. Results showed that AChE activity was half in the pesticide exposed individuals than controls (≤ 0.001). BuChE activity was also significantly decreased in the pesticide exposed individuals than controls (≤ 0.001), while AChE and BuChE activity in smokers and alcoholics were not different from that of controls. However, significantly decreased AChE and BuChE activities were recorded in pesticide exposed workers compared to smokers and alcoholics. The results indicated that the decrease in enzyme activities in tea garden workers was due to mixed pesticides (containing organophosphates) exposure. Age was not found to influence the enzyme activities. However, the gender had little effect on the enzyme activities but the effect was not so prominent.
农药中毒及相关死亡是一个全球性问题，但有关其对北孟加拉职业暴露于农药的茶园工人影响的信息却很少。本研究调查了接触混合农药的茶园工人血液中乙酰胆碱酯酶（AChE）和丁酰胆碱酯酶（BuChE）的水平。研究样本包括接触农药的工人、非接触者（对照组）、吸烟者和酗酒者。测量并测试了 AChE 和 BuChE 的活性。结果表明，与对照组相比，接触农药者的 AChE 活性降低了一半（≤0.001）。与对照组相比，接触农药者的 BuChE 活性也显著降低（≤0.001），而吸烟者和酗酒者的 AChE 和 BuChE 活性与对照组没有差异。然而，与吸烟者和酗酒者相比，接触农药的工人的 AChE 和 BuChE 活性明显降低。结果表明，茶园工人酶活性的降低是由于接触混合农药（含有机磷）所致。年龄未发现对酶活性有影响。然而，性别对酶活性的影响较小，但不明显。
