Imidacloprid (IMI) is a neonicotinoid insecticide employed worldwide for crop protection. IMI’s mode of action occurs through the agonism of postsynaptic nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), with high specificity for insect nAChRs although there are reports of mammals’ toxicity. Studies on IMI’s neurotoxicity are not conclusive; therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the subchronic toxic effects of an IMI based commercial pesticide on rats. Adult male Wistar rats received an IMI suspension via the oral route at doses of 1.5, 5, and 15 mg/kg for 45 consecutive days. IMI caused an increase in rearing and time spent at the periphery in the locomotor activity test and a decrease in time spent to finish the OX maze task (p < 0.05; ANOVA/Bonferroni). In blood, there was a decrease in mean corpuscular hemoglobin and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (p < 0.05; ANOVA/Bonferroni) and an increase in serum butyrylcholinesterase activity (p < 0.001; ANOVA/Bonferroni). Therefore, subchronic administration of an IMI-based-pesticide caused behavioral and systemic impairments in rats.

吡虫啉 (IMI) 是一种新烟碱类杀虫剂，在全球范围内用于作物保护。IMI 的作用方式是通过对突触后烟碱型乙酰胆碱受体 (nAChRs) 的激动作用，尽管有哺乳动物毒性的报道，但对昆虫 nAChRs 具有高度特异性。IMI 的神经毒性研究尚无定论；因此，本研究的目的是评估基于 IMI 的商业杀虫剂对大鼠的亚慢性毒性作用。成年雄性 Wistar 大鼠通过口服途径接受 IMI 悬浮液，剂量为 1.5、5 和 15 mg/kg，连续 45 天。IMI 导致在运动活动测试中在外围花费的饲养和时间增加，并减少完成 OX 迷宫任务所花费的时间（p < 0.05；ANOVA/Bonferroni）。在血液中，平均红细胞血红蛋白和平均红细胞血红蛋白浓度降低（p < 0.05；ANOVA/Bonferroni），血清丁酰胆碱酯酶活性增加（p < 0.001；ANOVA/Bonferroni）。因此，亚慢性施用基于 IMI 的农药会导致大鼠的行为和全身损伤。