The Nutritional Characteristics of Greenhouse Workers Exposed to Intensive Pesticides and Determining the Levels of Xanthine Oxidase, Nitric Oxide and Arylesterase in Their Blood

Objective: Agricultural spraying in greenhouses may cause workers be exposed to the adverse effects of pesticides more than outdoor land workers. High dose application and spraying of pesticides without prevention may increase risks of harmful effect remarkably. In this study, influence of greenhouse workers from pesticides was investigated. Materials and Methods: For this study 74 people were chosen, including 44 workers who have been exposed to pesticides and 30 people who have never been directly exposed pesticides. To compare continuous variables, the Student's t-test was used where appropriate. Results: According to nutritional habits 52.5% of greenhouse workers consumed their production of tomatoes and also other fruits and vegetables without washing. In addition, 59% of greenhouse workers have consumed water and 54.5% of them have consumed some food while spraying pesticides. The statistics showed that levels of xanthine oxidase (XO) and nitric oxide (NO) in pesticides-exposed workers were significantly higher in comparison to non-exposed group and the level of ARE was significantly lower in pesticides-exposed workers when compared with non-exposed group, respectively (p<0.05). Conclusion: The results of study revealed that levels of XO and NO in study group were significantly (p>0.05) higher than control group and the level of arylesterase was significantly (p<0.05) lower than control group, respectively.