Abstract
The increasing use of pesticides has caused global concerns about the toxic effects and adverse consequences of pesticides on humans and the environment. Among the ways to understand the impact of pesticides, the Allium cepa bioassay stands out. This test is suitable to evaluate different toxic, cytotoxic, genotoxic, and mutagenic outcomes. In this context, the present review aimed to summarize the history of using the A. cepa bioassay to investigate pesticide damages. Data on the experimental conditions were also discussed. The reviewed studies showed the toxicity profile of 113 active ingredients primarily tested in the laboratory, using water for exposure. The most used biomarkers were the mitotic index, chromosomal aberrations, and nuclear abnormalities. All active ingredients caused some toxicity levels in A. cepa, showing the efficiency and sensibility of this bioindicator and the adverse effect of pesticides on humans and the environment. Furthermore, it was evident that pesticides have great potential to damage the mitotic spindle and DNA because almost all active ingredients tested induced chromosomal aberrations and nuclear abnormalities. The current review showed that the A. cepa bioassay is an effective and appropriate model to evaluate pesticide toxicity, and it might indicate research gaps and recommendations for further studies.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the Brazilian funding agencies Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Goiás (FAPEG). CFCC was supported by CAPES student fellowship (88887.483362/2020-00). LMA thanks Universidade Estadual Goás (UEG) from financial support (grants PrP 04/2021 and PrP 05/2021).
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All the authors declare to have made substantial contributions to the article conception. The idea for the article was from CFCC. CFCC: conceptualization, data curation, formal analysis, investigation, methodology, visualization, writing—original draft and writing—review and editing. LMA: conceptualization, project administration, supervision, methodology, writing—original draft and writing—review and editing. EFLCB: conceptualization, methodology and writing—review and editing. LSO: writing—review and editing. FMC: writing—review and editing.
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Camilo-Cotrim, C.F., Bailão, E.F.L.C., Ondei, L.S. et al. What can the Allium cepa test say about pesticide safety? A review. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 48088–48104 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-20695-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-20695-z