Fenpropathrin, or fenopropathrin, is a widely used

pyrethroid A pyrethroid is an organic compound similar to the natural pyrethrins, which are produced by the flowers of pyrethrums (''Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium'' and ''Chrysanthemum coccineum, C. coccineum''). Pyrethroids are used as commercial and hou ...

insecticide Insecticides are pesticides used to kill insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against insect eggs and larvae, respectively. The major use of insecticides is in agriculture, but they are also used in home and garden settings, i ...

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

and household. Fenpropathrin is an ingestion and contact synthetic pyrethroid. Its mode of action is similar to other natural (

pyrethrum ''Pyrethrum'' was a genus of several Old World plants now classified in either '' Chrysanthemum'' or '' Tanacetum'' which are cultivated as ornamentals for their showy flower heads. Pyrethrum continues to be used as a common name for plants form ...

) and synthetic pyrethroids where in they interfere with the kinetics of voltage gated sodium channels causing paralysis and death of the pest. Fenpropathrin was the first of the light-stable synthetic pyrethroids to be synthesized in 1971, but it was not commercialized until 1980. Like other pyrethroids with an α-cyano group, fenpropathrin also belongs to the termed type II

pyrethroids A pyrethroid is an organic compound similar to the natural pyrethrins, which are produced by the flowers of pyrethrums (''Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium'' and '' C. coccineum''). Pyrethroids are used as commercial and household insecticides. In ...

(e.g. cyfluthrin, cyhalothrin,

cypermethrin Cypermethrin (CP) is a synthetic pyrethroid used as an insecticide in large-scale commercial agricultural applications as well as in consumer products for domestic purposes. It behaves as a fast-acting neurotoxin in insects. It is easily degrad ...

deltamethrin Deltamethrin is a pyrethroid ester insecticide. Deltamethrin plays a key role in controlling malaria vectors, and is used in the manufacture of long-lasting insecticidal mosquito nets; however, resistance of mosquitos and bed bugs to deltamethrin ...

and esfenvalerate). Type II pyrethroids are a more potent toxicant than type I in depolarizing insect nerves. Application rates of fenpropathrin in agriculture according to US environmental protection agency (EPA) varies by crop but is not to exceed 0.4 lb a
acre

Toxicity

A person developed

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

after six months of daily exposure to fenpropathrin, and animal tests subsequently revealed that the compound is a

dopaminergic Dopaminergic means "related to dopamine" (literally, "working on dopamine"), a common neurotransmitter. Dopaminergic substances or actions increase dopamine-related activity in the brain. Dopaminergic pathways, Dopaminergic brain pathways facil ...

neurotoxin Neurotoxins are toxins that are destructive to nervous tissue, nerve tissue (causing neurotoxicity). Neurotoxins are an extensive class of exogenous chemical neurological insult (medical), insultsSpencer 2000 that can adversely affect function ...

. The patient had a history of eating fenpropathrin-poisoned fish for 6 months. The follow-up

Dopaminergic Dopaminergic means "related to dopamine" (literally, "working on dopamine"), a common neurotransmitter. Dopaminergic substances or actions increase dopamine-related activity in the brain. Dopaminergic pathways, Dopaminergic brain pathways facil ...

degeneration study was conducted using mice treated with fenpropathrin at 15mg/kg/day for 60 days. It has thus been implicated as an environmental risk factor for Parkinson's disease similar to

organochlorines Organochlorine chemistry is concerned with the properties of organochlorine compounds, or organochlorides, organic compounds that contain one or more carbon–chlorine bonds. The chloroalkane class ( alkanes with one or more hydrogens substituted ...

organophosphates In organic chemistry, organophosphates (also known as phosphate esters, or OPEs) are a class of organophosphorus compounds with the general structure , a central phosphate molecule with alkyl or aromatic substituents. They can be considered ...

and

especially at higher doses. An acute reference dose for chronic dietary exposure for fenpropathrin is set at 0.025/mg/kg/day by U
EPA
Fenpropathrin is toxic to bees if they come in contact with them directly similar to other

insecticides Insecticides are pesticides used to kill insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against insect eggs and larvae, respectively. The major use of insecticides is in agriculture, but they are also used in home and garden settings, in ...

. Toxicity dissipates with time when deposited o
foliage
and is <2
hours

Environmental Fate

Fenpropathrin degrades from soil by two main mechanisms, biodegradation and photochemical degradation of surface deposits. The time of degradation depends on the characteristics of the soils. The half-life of disappearance for fenpropathrin in soils was 11 to 17 days under aerobic conditions and approx >1 yr under anaerobic conditions. The half-life of fenpropathrin on the surface of a sterilized sandy loam was in the range of 3 to 4 days following irradiation with natura
sunlight

Trade Names

Danitol, Meothrin, Tame.

References

Monoaminergic neurotoxins (cyano-(3-phenoxyphenyl)methyl) 2,2,3-trimethylcyclopropane-1-carboxylates {{antiinfective-drug-stub

Toxicity

Environmental Fate

Trade Names

See also

References