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Background: Common pesticides used in the region by agricultural workers may cause contact allergy. Methods: Thirty agricultural workers with a history of pesticide exposure and dermatitis involving the face, neck, trunk or extremities, and 20 controls comprising 2 groups of 10 subjects each, group 1 with dermatitis and no exposure to pesticides, and group 2 with neither exposure to pesticides nor dermatitis, were patch tested with 10 pesticides commonly used in the region by use of the Finn Chamber method. Results: The 30 patients, 20 of whom were male, aged 30‐77 years, had dermatitis for 1 month to 18 years, with relapses and remissions. Seasonal exacerbation was present in 18 patients. Six patients attributed aggravation of their dermatitis to pesticide exposure, and 2 of these reacted positively to propiconazole. Positive patch test reactions to pesticides occurred in 10 patients, but not in controls. Thiuram was the commonest sensitizer (4 patients). Three patients were sensitized to propiconazole, and 2 patients reacted positively to metaldehyde. Formaldehyde, mercaptobenzothiazole, cypermethrin and isoproturon gave positive reactions in 1 patient each. Conclusion: The sensitizing potential of pesticides remains a concern. Apparently, pesticide contact dermatitis is more common than expected, but remains under‐reported, as the implicated pesticides vary across regions and according to the crop patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about the occurrence of emerging environmental contaminants, such as benzotriazoles (BTRs), benzothiazoles (BTHs), benzophenones (BzPs), and bisphenol analogues (BPs) in India. In this study, we determined the occurrence and removal of BTRs, BTHs, BzPs, and BPs in five Indian sewage treatment plants (STPs). The respective measured mean concentrations ( N = 5) in influents and effluents were 370 and 57.4 ng L −1 for BTRs, 50800 and 20200 ng L −1 for BTHs, 351 and 163 ng L −1 for BzPs, and 98.0 and 9.6 ng L −1 for BPs. Among the target chemicals analyzed, BTHs were found at elevated levels, and the measured levels were some of the highest ever reported in the literature. The mean concentrations ( N = 5) of BTRs, BTHs, BzPs, and BPs in sludge were 44.2, 51200, 124, and 200 ng g −1 dry wt, respectively. The removal efficiencies for BTRs, BTHs, BzPs, and BPs ranged as follows: 54.2–85.6%, 23.4–85.0%, 51.8–71%, and 76.0–97.0%, respectively, and were comparable to those reported for other countries. Elevated concentrations of BTHs in Indian STPs can be related to consumption of these chemicals in a wide range of products including paper, textile and rubber materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Minimizing Aspergillus flavus growth is an effective strategy to mitigate aflatoxin contamination in food and agricultural products. In the present investigation, we attempted to utilize soil-associated yeasts from the Western and Eastern Ghats of India against A. flavus to reduce aflatoxin contamination. Forty-five yeast isolates were screened against A. flavus using overlay and dual plate assays. Among them, 12 isolates effectively inhibited the growth of A. flavus. The 18S rDNA gene sequence analysis identified the twelve antagonistic isolates as belonging to Saccharomyces cerevisiae , Suhomyces xylopsoci, Pichia kudriavzevii , and Candida tropicalis. From the isolated yeasts, S. cerevisiae strains were selected for further evaluation based on the potential antagonistic activity. Volatiles of S. cerevisiae effectively suppressed the mycelial growth of A. flavus (P < 0.05) up to 92.1 % at 7 DAI. Scanning electron microscopic images of the fungus exposed to volatiles showed hyphal deformity and mycelial damage. Aflatoxin B 1 (AFB 1) production was drastically reduced up to 99.0 % in the volatile-exposed fungus compared to the control. The yeast strain YKK1 showed consistent Aspergillus flavus growth inhibition (80.7 %) and AFB 1 production (98.1 %) for 14 days. Gas chromatography-mass spectrophotometry analysis of the yeast volatiles revealed the presence of antimicrobial compounds, including 1-pentanol, 1-propanol, ethyl hexanol, ethanol, 2-methyl-1-butanol, ethyl acetate, dimethyl trisulfide, p-xylene, styrene, and 1,4-pentadiene. The evaluated compounds of yeast volatiles, including ethyl acetate, hexanal, 1-propanol, 1-heptanol, 1-butanol, and benzothiazole, inhibited the fungal growth and AFB 1 production of Aspergillus flavus when applied as pure chemicals. Benzothiazole at 5 mM was responsible for a high level of growth inhibition (23.6 %) and reduction of AFB 1 synthesis (93.5 %). Hence, volatile compounds produced by soil yeast strains could be a potential biocontrol mechanism against aflatoxin contamination. • Soil yeasts showed antagonistic activity against Aspergillus flavus. • Volatile organic compounds of yeast strains inhibit A. flavus. • Mycelial damage and hyphal deformity observed in VOCs exposed fungus. • Aflatoxin B 1 accumulation was inhibited upon volatiles exposure. • Inhibitory effect of VOCs on AFB 1 was persisted up to 14 DAI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]