Desvendando os efeitos do glifosato: uma comparação morfológica profunda no tecido epitelial de ratos expostos oralmente e por inalação

Abstract

Brazil is considered the country that consumes the most agrochemicals in the world, which is a worrying fact for public and environmental health. The forms of exposure to agrochemicals are varied, among them the most common are oral and inhalational exposure, which can cause various health hazards, affecting organs and systems. Among the various agrochemicals used in Brazil, the herbicide Glyphosate has been popularly discussed due to its possible damage to health and its great expansion in the agricultural market. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the presence of fibrosis and mast cells in the epidermis of the dorsum of rats subjected to inhalational and oral exposure to glyphosate, using histological methods, and to compare the results between the types and concentrations of exposure. The study was approved by CEUA under protocol 5684, from stored material where 112 male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 8 groups of different concentrations to the herbicide (low, medium and high), 4 groups exposed by inhalation and 4 groups exposed orally. The exposure was carried out for 180 days, then the animals were euthanized and epithelial tissue was collected in order to analyze the pathological processes by means of toluidine blue and picrosirius stains. In the results, a greater amount of fibrosis was observed in the groups with high concentration of glyphosate compared to the group with medium and low concentration, with a much more pronounced change in the inhaled group compared to the group exposed orally. Changes in the amount of intact and degranulated mast cells were observed, especially in the inhaled group. This study demonstrated that inhalational and oral exposures are capable of causing dermal alterations such as fibrosis and inflammatory process and the use of personal protective equipment is essential when using this type of herbicide.