Investigation on the mancozeb toxicity in adult zebrafish (Danio rerio)

• Published in: Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A Part A, 2024-08, Vol.87 (15), p.616-629
• Main Authors: Mendes, Ellen Jaqueline, Mazon, Samara Cristina, Marsaro, Isabella Bodanese, Hermes, Maria Eduarda, Sachett, Adrieli, Bertoncello, Kanandra Taisa, de Moura, Fernando Rafael, da Silva Júnior, Flavio Manoel Rodrigues, Müller, Liz Girardi, Lima-Rezende, Cássia Alves, Siebel, Anna Maria
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agriculture; Animals; Behavior, Animal - drug effects; Danio rerio; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Exposure; Fungicides; Fungicides, Industrial - toxicity; locomotion; Locomotor activity; Mancozeb; Maneb - toxicity; Nontarget organisms; Oxidative status; Oxidative Stress - drug effects; Pesticides; Soil water; Survival; Toxicity; Water Pollutants, Chemical - toxicity; World population; Zebrafish; zebrafish, survival rate; Zineb - toxicity
• ISSN: 1528-7394; 1087-2620; 2381-3504
• DOI: 10.1080/15287394.2024.2352787

Agriculture has gained increasing importance in response to the continuous growth of the world population and constant need for food. To avoid production losses, farmers commonly use pesticides. Mancozeb is a fungicide used in agriculture as this compound is effective in combating fungi that harm crops. However, this fungicide may also produce damage to non-target organisms present in soil and water. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the influence of exposure to mancozeb on survival rate, locomotor activity, behavior, and oxidative status utilizing adult zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a model following exposure to environmentally relevant concentrations of this pesticide. The experimental groups were negative control, positive control, and mancozeb (0.3; 1.02; 3.47; 11.8 or 40 μg/L). Zebrafish were exposed to the respective treatments for 96 hr. Exposure to mancozeb did not markedly alter survival rate and oxidative status of Danio rerio. At a concentration of 11.8 μg/L, the fungicide initiated changes in locomotor pattern of the animals. The results obtained suggest that the presence of mancozeb in the environment might produce locomotor alterations in adult zebrafish, which subsequently disrupt the animals' innate defense mechanisms. In nature, this effect attributed to mancozeb on non-target organisms might result in adverse population impacts and ecological imbalance.