Urtica dioica extract counteracts the toxic effect of an organophosphate pesticide (Chlorpyrifos) on zebrafish larva​

The increase in the world’s population in the 21st century could not have been possible without a parallel expansion in food production, enhanced by technological advances and the use of pesticides. Although around one-third of crop production depends on applying pesticides, the extensive use of these chemicals results in soil, water, and turf contamination. Indeed, those chemical compounds remain in the yields and enter the food chain, posing a hazard to human beings by affecting the physiological pathways and organs, resulting in acute or chronic disorders [1]. Poisoning by acute exposure to certain pesticides has well-known neurotoxic effects, including increased prevalence of neurologic symptoms and changes in neurobehavioral performance, reflecting cognitive and psychomotor dysfunction [2]. Moreover, many studies have shown that natural compounds possess protective activity against many neurological disorders and have neuro-pharmacological effects by increasing levels of specific cell survival proteins [3,4]. Considering all the data mentioned above, we thought to investigate the effects of Urtica dioicaethanolic extract on counteracting the toxic effects of chlorpyrifos, a broad-spectrum organophosphate insecticide, on the development and neurobehavioral performance of zebrafish larvae. We have performed morphological, histological, and immunohistochemical approaches on control, pesticide, Urtica dioica extract, preventive and curative larval groups to fulfill our goal. Our finding includes the teratogenicity of chlorpyrifos exposure in zebrafish embryos and its capacity to delay normal hatching time and alter neurobehavioral responses. All the toxic effects of the pesticide were counteracted by the ethanolic extract of Urtica dioica exposition performed prior (preventive) or subsequent (curative) to the pesticide exposure.