Study of Antioxidant Status in Morticians Exposed to Formaldehyde in Benin City, Nigeria

Background: Subacute and subchronic formaldehyde inhalation has been reported to deplete the activities of antioxidant enzymes, stimulate oxidative stress and thus promote genotoxicity, amongst others.AIM: To investigate the toxicity and pathobiology of inhaled chemicals in workers occupationally exposed to histological and embalmment chemicals(mainly formaldehyde) in Benin City, using markers of cellular oxidative damage: super oxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), Glutathione peroxidise (GPx) andmalondialdehyde ( MDA)as biochemical indices.Materials/Methods: The exposed group (n=36) comprised of male embalmers (morticians) who have had occupational exposure for a minimum of five years, while apparently healthy age-matched male subjects (n=34) without considerable exposure to formaldehyde served as control subjects. From blood samples obtained, SOD, CAT, GPx and MDA were determined using standard methods.Results: From the results obtained, SOD and GPxactivities of exposed group (12.17±1.65 Unit/ml; 9.55± 0.56 Unit/ml) were higher and significantly different from non-exposed subjects (6.37±0.73 Unit/ml; 6.81 ±0.60 Unit/ml) respectively. No significant difference in CAT activities between exposed group (1295.90±122.02 Unit/ml) and non-exposed subjects (947.92±340.71 Unit/ml) was observed. MDA concentration showed a similar pattern (exposed group: 0.02±0.00 Unit/ml; non-exposed group: 0.02±0.00Unit/ml).Conclusion: This study concludes that there was no significant formaldehyde-induced depressive effect on antioxidant status in chronic occupationally exposed morticians in Benin City. The comparatively higher antioxidant activities observed in exposed subjects could have possibly resulted from cellular adaptation to chronic formaldehyde exposure.Keywords: Occupational exposure, formaldehyde, toxicity, antioxidants