Use of cholinesterase activity in monitoring organophosphate pesticide exposure of cattle produced in tropical areas.

The use of cholinesterase activity as a biochemical method for monitoring organophosphate pesticide exposure in cattle is described herein. Determination of cholinesterase activity of whole blood, erythrocyte, and plasma was carried out according to the Ellman modified kinetic method. The mean baseline acetylcholinesterase activities of 9.549 +/- 3.619 IU/mL in whole blood, 9.444 +/- 3.006 IU/mL in erythrocytes, and 0.149 +/- 0.063 IU/mL in plasma were estimated for steers from the control group. Results of multivariate analysis showed that the general responses between the control and experimental groups (in vivo, monitoring and case studies) treated with Coumaphos and Fenthion were statistically different, and the general responses of these experimental groups were statistically different over time as well. Among the fractions that were analyzed, the erythrocyte acetylcholinesterase activity could be adequate for the diagnosis of exposure or acute poisoning in cattle as it showed a good within-run and between-run precision with CVs <10% better than those in plasma.