Study Shows Insecticides Can Disrupt Circadian Rhythms

A new UB study shows that exposure to synthetic chemicals commonly found in insecticides and garden products may adversely affect melatonin receptor signaling, creating a higher risk for metabolic diseases such as diabetes.

Leading the research were Rajendram Rajnarayanan, PhD, assistant professor of pharmacology and toxicology; Margarita L. Dubocovich, PhD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of pharmacology and toxicology; and Marina Popovska, a graduate of UB’s master’s program in pharmacology.

“Some of the insecticides do tend to persist in the environment and have the potential to bypass metabolism and chemical breakdown,” Rajnarayanan said. “Exposure to these chemicals does more harm than those that are broken down chemically or by our body rapidly.”