Sub-chronic Exposure to Mosquito coil Smoke in Mice: Effect on Motor Coordination
Abstract
Mosquito coil is a common insect repellent used in many homes. It burns and emits smoke that repels and immobilizes mosquito. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of sub-chronic exposure to mosquito coil smoke on motor coordination in mice. Twenty eight adult mice weighing 20 – 38g were used for the study and divided into four groups of seven mice each. Group one was exposed to environmental air; group two, three and four exposed to Goldeer mosquito coil smoke (containing 0.03% transfluthrin) for one, two and three hours respectively for six weeks. Mice were passed through the Beam walking assay after one, three and six weeks of exposure. The mice were anaesthesized, sacrificed and brain sample harvested and homogenized. The homogenate was centrifuged and the supernatant used for biochemical assays of malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase activity (SOD) and catalase activity (CAT). Data were analysed using One Way Anova with Tukey post hoc tests. Results were expressed as Mean ± SEM and P values of (P < 0.05) regarded as statistically significant. The result showed that prolong mosquito coil smoke inhalation could impair motor function especially motor coordination (P < 0.05).
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Key words: Mice, mosquito coil smoke, motor coordination, beam walk.
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