Submit Manuscript | http://medcraveonline.com Abbreviations: DZN, diazinon; ANOVA, analysis of variance; LYC, lycopene; VE, vitamin E; RBC, red blood cell; Hb, haemoglobin; Hct, haematocrit; WBC, white blood cell; LYM, lymphocytes; MCV, mean corpuscular volume; MCH, mean corpuscular haemoglobin; MCHC, mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration; NEU, neutrophils; MON, monocytes; EOS, eosinophils; OPIs, organic phosphorus insecticides; DO, dissolved oxygen; BW, body weight; Ht, haematocrit; AST, aspartate aminotransferase; ALT, alanine aminotransferase; ALP, alkaline phosphatase Introduction The exposure of fish to several types of chemical agents may induce changes in several haematological and physiological parameters, which are frequently used to evaluate fish health. Haematology has been widely used for the detection of physiological alterations following different stress conditions. Therefore, haematological techniques are the most common method to determine the sublethal effects of pollutants. 1,2 Insecticides Organic Phosphorus Insecticides (OPIs) are a major component of many pesticides with widespread use in both agricultural and domestic situations. However, approximately 85- 90% of applied agricultural pesticides never reach target organisms, but disperse through the air, soil and water. 3 Diazinon (DZN) (O,O- diethyl-O-[2-isopropyl-6-methyl-4-pyrimidinyl] phosphorothioate) is a contact OPIs with a broad range of insecticidal activity and widely used throughout the world with applications in agriculture and horticulture. 4 Various reports have been published with respect to DZN and its effects on biochemical and hematological parameters of fish. 5 The estimation of DZN free radical generations and the antioxidant defense has become an important aspect of investigation in mammals and animals especially with the natural antioxidants like carotenoids including beta-carotene and lycopene 6–8 and vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol). 7–9 These naturally occurring antioxidants play important roles in animal health by inactivating harmful free radicals produced through normal cellular activity and from various stressors. 10,11 The antioxidant potential of these micronutrients could maintain the functional and structural integrity of important immune cells and in turn enhance immunity. 8,10–12 Therefore, the assessment of the relative antioxidant potency of vitamin E and carotenoids has received particular attention. 7,8,10,11,13 In fact, lycopene has a higher antioxidant potential than alpha-tocopherol and beta-carotene. 7 The mechanism ultimately responsible for the antioxidant property of carotenoids is still unknown. 14,15 The carotenoids are a family of fat- soluble pigments that are prevalent in numerous fruits and vegetables. Several studies have investigated the potential of carotenoids to ameliorate oxidative stress. Lycopene, which is a naturally occurring carotenoid that is present in tomatoes and tomato products, has attracted considerable attention as a potential chemo-preventive agent. Recently, lycopene has become a focus of interest because of its highly efficient antioxidant scavenging activity against singlet- oxygen and free radicals. Thus, lycopene may prevent oxidative damage, toxicity, and disease. Lycopene is one of the most effective antioxidants in the carotenoid family. 16–18 (Table 1). According to Hassel, 19 biochemical changes occurs in fishes that are exposed to environmental contaminants, such changes which may include pesticides and their metabolites have necessitated a number of studies to determine their effects in aquatic environment on biochemical parameters in fish. 20 Several authors have investigated the effect of pesticide in fish. 5,21–24 The primary aim of this study was Adv Plants Agric Res. 2014;1(3):80‒88. 80 © 2014 Ibrahim et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and build upon your work non-commercially. Ameliorative effect of lycopene and vitamin e on some haematological and biochemical parameters of oreochromis niloticus against diazinon toxicity Volume 1 Issue 3 - 2014 Ahmed Th A Ibrahim, 1 Mahdi Banaee 2 1 Department of Zoology, Assiut University, Egypt 2 Department of Aquaculture, Behbahan Khatam Alanbia University of Technology, Iran Correspondence: Ahmed Th A Ibrahim, Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, New Valley Branch, Assiut University, Egypt, Tel +2-0100-7221152, Email Ahmedt1983@yahoo.com Received: June 05, 2014 | Published: July 11, 2014 Abstract The present investigation aimed to determine the toxicological effects of diazinon (DZN) pesticide on hematological and biochemical parameters of the widely consumed Oreochromis niloticus. Adult specimens of Oreochromis niloticus were exposed to two sublethal concentrations (0.76 and 2.3mg/l) of DZN against the ameliorative effect of lycopene (10mg/kg) and vitamin E (50mg/kg) for 14 and 28 days. Empirical data of results obtained were subjected to statistical analysis of variance (ANOVA) to test the effects of DZN, lycopene (LYC), vitamin E (VE) and exposure periods. DZN significantly led to decline in red blood cell count (RBC’s), blood haemoglobin (Hb), haematocrit value (Hct), white blood cell count (WBC’s) and lymphocytes (LYM). While, the mean values of mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC), neutrophils (NEU), monocytes (MON), eosinophils (EOS), serum protein (total protein, albumin and globulin), glucose, AST, ALT, ALP, urea and creatinine were significantly increased from the control values. Lycopene and vitamin E supplementation play appositive role in detoxification of DZN toxicity. The results suggest that DZN can negatively affect the hematology and physiology of fish. It was observed that supplementation of lycopene and vitamin E decreases the toxic effect of diazinon. Keywords: fish, diazinon, lycopene, vitamin e, haematology, biochemistry Advances in Plants & Agriculture Research Research Article Open Access