Efficacy of total antioxidant capacity as biomarker of oxidative stress in response to organochlorine pesticide exposure

Background Total Antioxidant Capacity (TAC) reflects the overall antioxidants in the body, which typically decrease in response to organochlorine pesticide (OCP) exposure, due to an increase in oxidative stress; however, some studies show contrasting results.Purpose Owing to the inconsistent findings reported from the studies concerning the association of the TAC in OCP-exposed individuals, a meta-analysis is conducted.Methods A systematic literature survey was conducted through Scopus, MEDLINE, and Web of Science, up to November 2025, to find relevant articles following the PRISMA guideline.Results: The search resulted in 11 articles, with 08 clinical and 04 exposure-based case-control experiments. The pooled results showed a significant negative association of TAC with OCPs (p < 0.01; standardized mean difference of −1.68). Egger’s regression revealed no significant publication bias among the studies. The sensitivity analysis encompassing all the studies indicated the absence of any significant changes in the statistics.Conclusion Our findings indicated that the concentration of TAC was significantly lower in OCP exposed cases, as compared to the controls and/or unexposed counterparts. This suggests that TAC may serve as a potential biomarker of oxidative stress associated with organochlorine pesticide exposure. Also, this analysis calls for additional studies that can strengthen this association.