Reproductive Toxicity

**237**

**Chapter 12**

**Abstract**

Insecticides

*Mehtap Kara and Ezgi Öztaş*

focusing on molecular mechanisms.

**1. Introduction**

that come into the market.

reproduction system, endocrine disruption

Reproductive Toxicity of

Pesticides include several classes such as insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, and have widespread usage in agriculture. Different type of pesticides and their combinations affect dairy animals through their lifetime and the livestock industry. Under chronic exposure conditions, hormonal and cellular systems of animals, which play a role in reproduction, are affected dramatically. Some of the insecticides act as endocrine disruptors and impair reproductive hormone metabolic pathways via the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis. Additionally, insecticides could have harmful effects on reproductive organs that may cause infertility. The aim of this chapter is review the toxic effects of insecticides on animal reproductive system

**Keywords:** organophosphates, organochlorines, pyrethroids, male and female

Over decades, consumption of pesticides has slightly increased year by year; over 4 million tons of pesticides were used worldwide in 2017. Asia (52.8%) followed by USA (30.2%) and Europe (13.8%) were the highest amount of pesticide used obtain the most excessive amount of pesticide used continents. Insecticides, a subgroup of pesticides, constitute nearly 100ooo tons per year [1]; and, carbamates, chlorinated hydrocarbons, organophosphates and pyrethroids are most commonly used insecticides. Although these chemicals increase crop yields and provide economic benefits by reducing pest-borne diseases, their harmful effects on human health and environment still have the attention; and, considering these effects less toxic alternatives continue to be developed. Pesticide exposure alone or in mixture via environmental contamination could have important acute and chronic adverse effects on living organisms. Pesticide usage in agriculture is increasing every passing day and becoming a confusing issue due to the use of new chemical compounds

Chronic or delayed insecticide exposure exerts its toxicity on several systems such as nervous, immune, respiratory and reproductive. Reproductive toxicity of insecticides may affect either men or women; reduced fertility, spontaneous abortion, birth defects and developmental retardation have been linked to insecticide toxicity [2, 3]. For livestock industry, decreasing reproductive functions is rising problem; and, common problems can be listed as infertility, sub-fecundity, ovarian
