ISSN: 2474-9214
Authors: Ufuk Mercan Yucel*
Flumethrin is a synthetic insecticide, a type II pyrethroid derivative group derived structurally from naturally occurring pyrethrins in some plants. It is widely used in veterinary medicine, public health and agricultural struggle. It is commonly used in cattle and sheep for the treatment and control of infestations due to biting flies, sucking and stinging lice, ticks, scabies and other external parasites. It is used in the treatment of scabies infections in dogs. It is also frequently used in the control of Varroa disease in beehives. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) classification, flumethrin has class II toxicity (moderately hazardous). The acute oral LC50 value of flumethrin was 41-3849 mg/kg in female Wistar mice. Flumethrin is toxic to fish and aquatic animals. It has been reported that flumethrin is also toxic to honey bees, causing behavioral disorders and nerve damage, shortening hive performance and life span. Brine-shrimp (Artemia salina) Letalite assay is one of the toxicity tests used to determine LC50 level. Artemia salina larvae are widely used in the determination of cytotoxicity of samples which biological activities are investigated. The lethal effect of toxic substances on Artemia salina larvae in vivo allows the use of the quick and simple method “Brine Shrimp LetaliteTestâ€. Information is limited on what adverse effects of acute or low-dose repeated exposure to flumetrine can cause. In this study, the cytotoxic effect of flumethrin was investigated by Brine Shrimp Letalite assay. 9 different concentrations of flumethrin (0.005, 0.01, 0.025, 0.05, 0.1, 0.5, 0.75, 1 and 2.5 µg/L) were used in the experiment. At the end of the study, 50% lethal concentration of flumethrin to Artemia salina larvae was determined to be 0.67 µg/L. The LC50 values of flumethrin below 100 ppm are found to be within the toxic limits in terms of upper and lower safety limits.
Keywords: Flumethrin; Brine Shrimp Lethality Assay; Artemia Salina; Cytotoxic Effect
