BACKGROUND:
Environmental and occupational exposure to pesticides is a significant public health concern, which is expected to increase with climate change. Intensive use, misuse, or inadequate control measures of these agrochemicals can lead to various adverse effects, including DNA damage. Pyrethroids are widely used insecticides that are considered relatively safe; although possibility of their genotoxicity has emerged. This study aimed to assess the genotoxic effects of the pyrethroid pesticide cyphenothrin.

METHODS:
Cultured human white blood cells (HL60) and hepatocytes (HepG2) were exposed in vitro for 1 hr to cyphenothrin alone and to its product formulation (Bombex Farumy®) in encapsulated or released form at 0-200 M and 0-1000 M concentrations, respectively. Cytotoxicity was measured by propidium iodide staining and induced DNA damage was assessed using comet assay.

RESULTS:
The study found that both the encapsulated and released product formulation, as well as cyphenothrin alone, reduced viability and increased DNA damage in the two cell types in a dose dependent manner. The encapsulated formulation showed less extensive cyto- and genotoxicity than the released form and the active ingredient. Cyphenothrin induced significant DNA damage in blood cells from 100 M in all parameters consistently, the released formulation from 50 M in tail length and at 100 M in tail moment, while the encapsulated form only in tail length in an inconsistent manner. Regarding liver cells, significant DNA damage was induced only at a higher concentration (1000 M) by cyphenothrin in all parameters and by the released formulation in tail DNA% and Olive tail moment.

CONCLUSIONS:
These findings suggest that while encapsulation mitigates toxic effects, both cyphenothrin and its formulations may pose health risks. Our results confirm the genotoxicity of cyphenothrin and highlight the importance of considering both the active ingredient and its product formulations in genotoxicity assessments.