TRACES OF ORGANOCHLORINE PESTICIDES IN BREAST MILK SAMPLES OF MOTHERS FROM RURAL AREAS OF KALABURAGI: IMPLICATIONS FOR INFANT HEALTH

Abstract

Organochlorine pollutants (OCPs) resist decomposition and continue to contaminate habitats and human health. This study analyzed traces levels of organochlorine pesticides in breast milk samples. A standard questionnaire was procured during the sample collection from all the donors. The study only recruited participants who were willing to donate breast milk samples and have provided their consent. A total of 66 mothers (mean age: 29 years) were voluntarily recruited, all mothers were healthy after delivering the baby. All the participants in this study were residents of Kalaburagi rural areas for at least 8-10 years. Analysis of several OCPs were done using GC (shizmadu GCMS QP2010), the traces of 3 OCP congeners were revealed in the mother’s milk samples. o,p'-DDE, p,p'-DDE and DDT have been determined in the mother’s milk samples. The analysis revealed that most dominant contaminant found was o,p'-DDE which was seen in 32 samples and p,p'-DDE was second most dominant since, it was also determined in 32 samples and least dominant contaminant was DDT which was determined in 8 samples. Our study shows that mother’s diets could have been a major effect on traces of pesticide residue in the mother’s milk. Dietary sustenance guidance like limiting inordinate amount of non-vegetarian foods of obscure sources may play a key role to reduce the traces of OCP excretion in to the breast milk.