OBJECTIVE: Fenitrothion residue is found primarily in soil, water and food products and can lead to a variety of toxic effects on the immune, hepatobiliary and hematological systems. However, the effects of fenitrothion on the male reproductive system remain unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of fenitrothion on the sperm and testes of male Sprague-Dawley rats. METHODS: A 20 mg/kg dose of fenitrothion was administered orally by gavages for 28 consecutive days. Blood sample was obtained by cardiac puncture and dissection of the testes and cauda epididymis was performed to obtain sperm. The effects of fenitrothion on the body and organ weight, biochemical and oxidative stress, sperm characteristics, histology and ultrastructural changes in the testes were evaluated. RESULTS: Fenitrothion significantly decreased the body weight gain and weight of the epididymis compared with the control group. Fenitrothion also decreased plasma cholinesterase activity compared with the control group. Fenitrothion altered the sperm characteristics, such as sperm concentration, sperm viability and normal sperm morphology, compared with the control group. Oxidative stress markers, such as malondialdehyde, protein carbonyl, total glutathione and glutathione S-transferase, were significantly increased and superoxide dismutase activity was significantly decreased in the fenitrothion-treated group compared with the control group. The histopathological and ultrastructural examination of the testes of the fenitrothion-treated group revealed alterations corresponding with the biochemical changes compared with the control group. CONCLUSION: A 20 mg/kg dose of fenitrothion caused deleterious effects on the sperm and testes of Sprague-Dawley rats.

Neurotoxicants present in water supply may affect human functions in terms of attention, response speed and perceptual motor speed. Neurobehavioural performance can be influenced by gender, age and education levels. This study aims to assess the neurobehavioral performance of palm oil estate residents with private water supply in southern Peninsular of Malaysia. A total of 287 and 246 participants from estates with private (PWS) and public water supply (PUB) were recruited to complete a demographic and subjective symptom questionnaire followed by the Neurobehavioral Core Test Battery (NCTB). PWS participants who consumed privately-treated water performed poorly in all NCTB tests compared to PUB participants except for Santa Ana test. Significant group differences in neurobehavioral performance were found for Digit Span Backward (P=0.047), Benton Visual Retention (P=0.006) and Trail Making B tests (P<0.05); which measures the function of memory, attention and visual perception-conceptual. Gender, age and years of education influenced the NCTB scores (P<0.05). Female participants performed poorly in tests measuring latency but excellently tackled those tests that determined association. Younger participants from both PWS and PUB performed better on NCTB tests when compared to other age groups (P<0.05). PWS and PUB participants in this study who received a longer duration of education excelled in the NCTB tests (P=0.000). Poor neurobehavioral performance is associated with low water supply quality which affects neurofunctions in terms of attention, memory, response and perceptual motor speed.