Bendiocarb
Encyclopedia
Bendiocarb is an acutely toxic carbamate
insecticide
used in public health
and agriculture
and is effective against a wide range of nuisance and disease vector insects. Many bendiocarb products are or were sold under the tradenames "Ficam" and "Turcam."
All bendiocarb-containing products in the United States
were recently cancelled, after its manufacturers voluntarily chose to pull their products off the market, rather than conduct additional safety studies required by the EPA. In other countries, it is still used in homes, industrial plants, and food storage sites to control bedbug
s, mosquitoes, flies
, wasp
s, ant
s, flea
s, cockroach
es, silverfish
, and tick
s but can be used against a wide variety of insects as well as snails and slugs. It is one of 12 insecticides recommended by the World Health Organization
for use in malaria
control.
Bendiocarb is not considered to be carcinogenic, but it is acutely toxic. Like other carbamates, it reversibly inhibits acetylcholinesterase
, an enzyme required for normal transmission of nerve impulses. Bendiocarb binds to the active site of this enzyme leading to an accumulation of acetylcholine
, which is required for the transmission of nerve impulses, at nerve muscle sites.
Bendiocarb was invented in 1971 and was first introduced into the market by Fisons
Ltd. It is currently marketed by Bayer
CropScience and Kuo Ching under various trade names: Ficam, Dycarb, Garvox, Turcam, Niomil, Seedox, Tattoo
Bendiocarb is highly toxic to birds and fish. In mammalian tissue, carbamates are generally excreted rapidly and do not accumulate.
Carbamate
Carbamates are organic compounds derived from carbamic acid . A carbamate group, carbamate ester, and carbamic acids are functional groups that are inter-related structurally and often are interconverted chemically. Carbamate esters are also called urethanes.-Synthesis:Carbamic acids are derived...
insecticide
Insecticide
An insecticide is a pesticide used against insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against the eggs and larvae of insects respectively. Insecticides are used in agriculture, medicine, industry and the household. The use of insecticides is believed to be one of the major factors behind...
used in public health
Public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
and agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
and is effective against a wide range of nuisance and disease vector insects. Many bendiocarb products are or were sold under the tradenames "Ficam" and "Turcam."
All bendiocarb-containing products in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
were recently cancelled, after its manufacturers voluntarily chose to pull their products off the market, rather than conduct additional safety studies required by the EPA. In other countries, it is still used in homes, industrial plants, and food storage sites to control bedbug
Bedbug
Cimicidae are small parasitic insects. The most common type is Cimex lectularius. The term usually refers to species that prefer to feed on human blood...
s, mosquitoes, flies
Fly
True flies are insects of the order Diptera . They possess a pair of wings on the mesothorax and a pair of halteres, derived from the hind wings, on the metathorax...
, wasp
Wasp
The term wasp is typically defined as any insect of the order Hymenoptera and suborder Apocrita that is neither a bee nor an ant. Almost every pest insect species has at least one wasp species that preys upon it or parasitizes it, making wasps critically important in natural control of their...
s, ant
Ant
Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...
s, flea
Flea
Flea is the common name for insects of the order Siphonaptera which are wingless insects with mouthparts adapted for piercing skin and sucking blood...
s, cockroach
Cockroach
Cockroaches are insects of the order Blattaria or Blattodea, of which about 30 species out of 4,500 total are associated with human habitations...
es, silverfish
Silverfish
Lepisma saccharina, frequently called silverfish, fishmoths, carpet sharks or paramites, are small, wingless insects in the order Thysanura...
, and tick
Tick
Ticks are small arachnids in the order Ixodida, along with mites, constitute the subclass Acarina. Ticks are ectoparasites , living by hematophagy on the blood of mammals, birds, and sometimes reptiles and amphibians...
s but can be used against a wide variety of insects as well as snails and slugs. It is one of 12 insecticides recommended by the World Health Organization
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
for use in malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
control.
Bendiocarb is not considered to be carcinogenic, but it is acutely toxic. Like other carbamates, it reversibly inhibits acetylcholinesterase
Acetylcholinesterase
"Acetylcholinesterase, also known as AChE or acetylcholine acetylhydrolase, is an enzyme that degrades the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, producing choline and an acetate group. It is mainly found at neuromuscular junctions and cholinergic nervous system, where its activity serves to terminate...
, an enzyme required for normal transmission of nerve impulses. Bendiocarb binds to the active site of this enzyme leading to an accumulation of acetylcholine
Acetylcholine
The chemical compound acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter in both the peripheral nervous system and central nervous system in many organisms including humans...
, which is required for the transmission of nerve impulses, at nerve muscle sites.
Bendiocarb was invented in 1971 and was first introduced into the market by Fisons
Fisons
Fisons plc was a leading British pharmaceutical, scientific instrument and horticultural chemical manufacturer. The Company was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but it was acquired by Rhone-Poulenc in 1995....
Ltd. It is currently marketed by Bayer
Bayer
Bayer AG is a chemical and pharmaceutical company founded in Barmen , Germany in 1863. It is headquartered in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and well known for its original brand of aspirin.-History:...
CropScience and Kuo Ching under various trade names: Ficam, Dycarb, Garvox, Turcam, Niomil, Seedox, Tattoo
Bendiocarb is highly toxic to birds and fish. In mammalian tissue, carbamates are generally excreted rapidly and do not accumulate.
External links
- R.E.D. Facts: Bendiocarb U.S. EPA, September 1999.
- Bendiocarb Technical Fact Sheet - National Pesticide Information Center
- Bendiocarb General Fact Sheet - National Pesticide Information Center
- Pesticide Information Profile on Bendiocarb Extension Toxicology Network , May 1994. Accessed August 2007
- Compendium of Pesticide Common Names bendiocarb , Alan Wood, Justis Publishing Limited, London. Accessed August 2007
- Pesticideinfo.org: Bendiocarb