Healthy male albino wistar rats (Rattusnorvegicus) were exposedto oral administration of 0.2ml of Nopest® (DDVP) pesticide once daily for 28 consecutive days at increasing concentration of 0.75, 1.5 and 3.0mg/ml to ascertain possible oxidative stress and toxic effects on the liver of the animals exposed with the different concentrations of the pesticide. There was significant increase (p<0.05) in the body weight for all the weeks of exposure and for all the groups as compared to the control group except at week four (101.4±5.51),(122.6±14.3) and (161.0±19.75) for group A,B, and C respectively. The liver function analysis was conducted to determine the level of change in Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT), Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST) and Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP). Analysis was also conducted for antioxidant enzymes: superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione (GSH), ascorbic acid (AA), and Malondialdehyde (MDA) in order to determine oxidative stress. There was significant increase in the levels of the antioxidants (p<0.05) which suggested that oxidative stress occurred in the exposed rats.

Keywords : oxidative stress, non-target organism, pesticide