Investigation of neurotoxic and immunotoxic effects of some plant growth regulators at subacute and subchronic applications on rats

The present study was aimed to investigate the effects of subacute and subchronic treatment of some plant growth regulators (PGRs), such as abscisic acid (ABA) and gibberellic acid (GA3), on neurological and immunological biomarkers in various tissues of rats. The activities of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butrylcholinesterase (BChE) were selected as biomarkers for neurotoxic biomarkers. Adenosine deaminase (ADA) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) were measured as indicators for immunotoxic investigation purpose. Wistar albino rats were orally administered with 25 and 50 ppm of PGRs ad libitum for 25–50 days continuously with drinking water. The treatment of PGRs caused different effects on the activities of enzymes. Results showed that the administrations of ABA and GA3 increased AChE and BChE activities in some tissues of rats treated with both the dosages and periods of ABA and GA3. With regard to the immunotoxic effects, ADA activity fluctuated, while MPO activity increased after subacute and subchronic exposure of treated rat tissues to both dosages when compared with the controls. The observations presented led us to conclude that the administrations of PGRs at subacute and subchronic exposure increased AChE, BChE, and MPO activities, while fluctuating the ADA activity in various tissues of rats. This may reflect the potential role of these parameters as useful biomarkers for toxicity of PGRs.