Protective effect of lycopene against cytotoxic and genotoxic effects induced by mixture of two pesticides (dimethoate and lambda-cyhalothrin) on human peripheral blood lymphocytes

Abstract

Lycopene is an acyclic isomer of β-carotene and it is mainly found in tomatoes. It is a potent singlet oxygen-quenching carotenoid and one of the most potent antioxidants. In addition to its antioxidant properties, lycopene shows various biological effects including anti-mutagenic and anti-carcinogenic activities. Pesticides form an important group of man-made noxious chemicals. Their potential synergistic or antagonistic side effects in humans have not yet been extensively investigated. In this study, the protective effect of lycopene against cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of two pesticide mixtures (lambda-cyhalothrin (LCT) and dimethoate (DIMET)) on human peripheral blood lymphocytes have been investigated using the Trypan blue exclusion and comet assays. For this purpose, human lymphocytes have been treated with 5 μg ml−1 and 10 μg ml−1 lycopene concentrations for 1 h. After lycopene treatment, lymphocytes were treated with pesticides DIMET (1 and 2 μl ml−1) and LCT (0.15 and 0.3 μl ml−1) and mixtures of 1 μl ml−1 DIMET + 0.15 μl ml−1 LCT and 2 μl ml−1 DIMET + 0.3 μl ml−1 LCT (1:1 v/v) for 2 h. DMSO was used in 0.1% as negative control, and 0.1 mM H2O2 was used as positive control. As a result, it was found that lycopene has a protective benefit against cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of pesticides and pesticide mixtures. In this context, 5 μg ml−1 lycopene concentration was found to be more effective than 10 μg ml−1 lycopene concentration (p < 0.05, ANOVA).