Cocktail Effect of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals: Application to Chlorpyrifos in Lavender Essential Oils

Chlorpyrifos is a pesticide that is toxic to human health and has been banned for the past decade. Due to its persistent and bioaccumulative properties, chlorpyrifos is still present in soil. Pregnant women can be exposed to chlorpyrifos through drinking water and herbal products, such as essential oils (EOs), resulting in adverse effects to the mother and fetus. Our objective was to evaluate and compare the potential endocrine disrupting effects of chlorpyrifos free or in contaminated lavender EO. We studied the release of four hormones and the activation of the P2X7 cell death receptor in human placental JEG-Tox cells as key biomarkers of endocrine toxicity for pregnant women (hPlacentox assay). We observed that free chlorpyrifos disrupted placental hormones and activated the P2X7 receptor, whereas chlorpyrifos in lavender EO disrupted only the placental hormones. We confirm that chlorpyrifos can be classified as an endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC) for pregnant women and point out that its endocrine disrupting effect may not be apparent when present in lavender EOs. Our results reveal the existence of specific reverse cocktail effects that may have protective properties against EDCs.

Automated summary

Chlorpyrifos, a banned pesticide, can still be found in soil, posing a risk to pregnant women through drinking water and herbal products. This study evaluated the endocrine disrupting effects of chlorpyrifos in lavender essential oil (EO) compared to its free form. The results showed that free chlorpyrifos disrupted placental hormones and activated the P2X7 receptor, while chlorpyrifos in lavender EO only disrupted placental hormones. This study confirms that chlorpyrifos is an endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC) for pregnant women and highlights the potential protective effects of lavender EO.