Study of the effects of perinatal exposure to pesticide fipronil on the neurobehavioral development of the adult offspring of rats

• Grant number: 13/16195-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: November 01, 2013
• End date: October 31, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Pharmacology - Toxicology
• Principal Investigator: Antonio Francisco Godinho
• Grantee: Faber Daniel Machado
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IBB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Fipronil, a chemical agent derived from phenyl pyrazole, is known to cause neurotoxicity having the gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA) as the main target for the mechanism of its toxic action. It is known that toxic compounds present in maternal blood can cross the placenta and reach the bloodstream of the fetus and can cause physiological, anatomical, pathological, and biochemical changes among others, including death. Pesticides are used worldwide and widely in our country. The toxic effects of these pesticides can be immediate or late. Among the last generation pesticides include fipronil, which has long been used, both in agriculture and in the prevention and control of ectoparasites that infest animals. The goal of this project is to study experimentally in rats the effects of perinatal exposure to the pesticide fipronil, evaluating the neurobehavioral development of the offspring of rats in the adult age. (AU)