METABOLIC ACTIVITY OF SHEEP PERIPHERAL BLOOD PHAGOCYTES AFTER EXPOSURE TO SELECTED PESTICIDES IN VITRO

Effect of pesticides with different chemical structure (atrazine, bentazone, chloridazone, dichlofluanid, endosulfan, MCPA, simazine, triallate) on sheep peripheral blood phagocytes was examined under in vitro conditions by iodo-nitro-te trazolium reductase test (INT). The pesticides were dissolved in dimethylsulfoxide (the final concentration of pesticides and DMSO in the culture medium was 1%) and tested at the concentrations of 10 -1 - 10 -8 M. The significant influence of dichlofluanid, endosulfan, simazine and triallate on metabolic activity of phagocytic cells isolated from sheep peripheral blood was found. The significant inhibitory effect of dichlofluanid on the index of metabolic activity (IMA) was found at the concentrations of 10 -1 (P < 0.001) – 10 -3 M (P < 0.05). Endosulfan, simazine and triallate decreased IMA significantly at the concentration of 10 -1 M (P < 0.05). Non-significant decrease of the mean values of IMA was also recorded at the concentrations of 10 -4 - 10 -6 M for dichlofluanid, at all concentrations of simazine and 10 -2 - 10 -4 M for triallate. Similarly, the mild non-significant decrease of the mean values of IMA were detected after the exposure to other pesticides (atrazine, bentazone, chloridazone, and MCPA). The method of the determination of metabolic activity of phagocytes in vitro enabled qualitative and quantitative determination of the inhibitory effect of several pesticides on metabolic activity of sheep peripheral blood neutrophiles and monocytes and also showed that the different chemical structure of the tested pesticides influences the metabolic activity of phagocytic cells in various intensity.