Evaluation of the Effect of Azoxystrobin on DNA Damage in Human Peripheral Lymphocytes, Dependent on Dose and Duration

ObjectiveAzoxystrobin (AZO), one of the most widely used fungicidesin agriculture, may exert genotoxic effects thatcould pose potential risks to human health. This studyaimed to evaluate the genotoxic effects of exposure toazoxystrobin at different durations and concentrationsin human lymphocyte cells using the Comet assay.Material and MethodLymphocyte cells from eight individuals were isolatedby centrifugation. AZO was applied at three differentconcentrations (10 μM, 50 μM, and 100 μM) for threedurations (one, two, or four hours) to each sample.The samples were analyzed using the Comet assaytechnique and imaged with a fluorescence microscopeon slides. Fifty cells per slide were analyzedusing OpenComet software. One-way ANOVA wasperformed on the results.ResultsThe group treated with 50 μM AZO for one hour exhibiteda statistically significant increase in DNA damagecompared to groups treated with 50 μM AZO for twoand four hours (p < 0.05). While there was no statisticalsignificance at the 10 and 100 μM application doses,an increase in DNA damage was observed comparedto the negative control group. At the 100 μMdose, a decrease in damage was observed in termsof the average tail DNA percentage at each hour ofapplication.ConclusionAZO was shown to potentially increase DNA damagedepending on the dose and time, but further studiesare needed.