INVOLVEMENT OF MAIN OXIDATIVE STRESS MECHANISMS IN THE TOXICITY OF BENOMYL AND CARBENDAZIM IN RATS

SUMMARY This study aimed to evaluate the role of oxidative stress in toxicity induced by BNL (benomyl) and its metabolite CBZ (carbendazim), which are systemic broad-spectrum benzimidazole fungicides. The activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), glutathione reductase (GSH-Rd), γ−glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST) as well as the levels of malonyldialdehyde (MDA), being a lipid peroxidation marker and reduced glutathione (GSH) were measured in the liver, kidney, testis and brain tissues of the rats, after acute exposure of the two fungicides and their mixture. In all tissues, it was observed that MDA levels were increased and changes in antioxidant defense system were occurred. The induction of oxidative stress manifested as changes in the activity and/or levels of antioxidative parameters has been suggested as the mechanism by which BNL and CBZ induces their toxic effects. OZET Bu calismada, genis spektrumlu sistemik benzimidazol grubu fungusidlerden olan BNL (benomyl) ve metaboliti CBZ (carbendazim)’ nin toksik etki mekanizmalarinda oksidatif stresin rolu arastirildi. BNL, CBZ ve karisimlarina akut maruziyet sonrasi sicanlarin karaciger, bobrek, testis ve beyin dokularinda oksidatif stres gostergesi olarak lipid peroksidasyon son urunu malondialdehid (MDA) ve indirgenmis glutatyon (GSH) seviyeleri, superoksid dismutaz (SOD), katalaz (CAT), glutatyon peroksidaz (GSHPx), glutatyon reduktaz (GSH-Rd), gama glutamil transpeptidaz (GGT) ve glutatyon-S-transferaz (GST) antioksidan enzim aktivitelerinin tayini yapildi. Tum dokularda MDA duzeylerinin arttigi ve antioksidan savunma sistemlerinde degisiklik oldugu gozlendi. BNL ve CBZ’nin toksisitesinde, antioksidan parametrelerin aktivite ve/veya duzeylerinde oksidatif stresin induksiyonu sonucu gorulen degisikliklerin rol oynadigi sonucuna varildi. Key words: Oxidative Stress, Benomyl, Carbendazim, Pesticide toxicity