Abstract
Pyrethroids, commercially available pesticides, are greatly in use these days, and thus they carry considerable chances of contaminating various ecosystems. Haematotoxicity of cypermethrin, a broadly used type II pyrethroid, has been assessed in the present study. Selected parameters included determination of total RBC count, haemoglobin concentration (Hb conc.), packed cell volume (PCV), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), total leukocyte count (TLC), differential leukocyte count (DLC), along with qualitative analysis of blood and bone marrow. Of these parameters, those showing significant decline following cypermethrin intoxication included total RBC count, Hb conc., PCV, MCV, MCH, whereas non-significant decrease was observed in the case of MCHC. ESR, TLC and DLC, on the other hand, increased significantly following cypermethrin intoxication. Qualitative changes included altered red cell morphology such as microcystosis, appearance of stomatocytes, poikilocytosis, giant platelet formation, etc. in peripheral blood and increased erythroid precursors in bone marrow of treated rats. These parameters were however normalised following twenty-two days of recovery phase.