LAUSR

BACKGROUND Few published studies are reported for neurobehavioral toxicity of the phenylpyrazole insecticide ethiprole in mammals. This study was designed to evaluate the reproductive and neurobehavioral effects of maternal exposure to ethiprole in mice. METHODS Ethiprole was given in the diet to provide levels of 0 (control), 0.0002, 0.001, and 0.005% during the gestation and lactation periods. Selected reproductive and neurobehavioral parameters were measured in the F1 generation. RESULTS No adverse effect of ethiprole was observed in litter size, litter weight, or sex ratio at birth. The average body weight of male and female offspring was increased significantly in treatment groups at postnatal day (PND) 21. With respect to behavioral developmental parameters, the time of olfactory orientation on PND 14 of male offspring was accelerated significantly in the high-dose group. For movement activity of exploratory behavior of female offspring in the F1 generation, number of horizontal activities increased significantly in the high-dose group and the average speed declined significantly in all treatment groups. After weaning, the rearing time and the average time of rearing lengthened in a significant dose-related trend in adult males and females of the F1 generation. Spontaneous behavior examination indicated that total distance and rearing time increased in the high-dose group, and number of horizontal activities and movement time decreased in a significant dose-related trend through 120 min in the F1 -generation females. CONCLUSIONS The high-dose level of ethiprole in the present study produced several adverse effects in neurobehavioral parameters after weaning without administration in mice.