Saber Kabiri-Samani - Young Researchers and Elite Club, Shahrekord Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord, Iran.
Hamidreza Kabiri - Young Researchers and Elite Club, Shahrekord Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord, Iran; Sina Borna Aria (SABA) Co., Ltd, Research and Development Center for Biotechnology, Shahrekord, Iran.

Propiconazole is a systemic fungicide from the triazole group used to control a wide range of diseases. This poison causes cellular, genetic and metabolic damage in animals. A bone is a hard tissue whose content is constantly changing. Longitudinal growth of the bone occurs through the growth plate, which is a cartilaginous structure at the end of the body's long bones. During puberty, while the growth plate closes (ossifies), the longitudinal growth of the bone stops. This study aimed to investigate propiconazole's effect on growth plate width changes (including the area of ​​proliferating cells and the area of ​​hypertrophied cells) in immature rats. This experimental study was conducted on ۱۲ immature male Wistar rats randomly divided into control and propiconazole groups. The treatments were done by oral gavage for ۲۸ days. On the ۲۸th day, the dead animals and the left leg femur were separated for histomorphometric studies of the growth plate width of the femoral epiphysis. Investigations were carried out by (Rasband Wayne, ۴۰g.۱. ver, ImageJ, USA, NIH), and the significance of the results was done by ANOVA analysis of variance and Tukey's test. The width of the growth plate in the propiconazole group had a significant decrease compared to the control group (P = ۰.۰۱۲۶), which is a decrease in the width of the proliferating area (P < ۰.۰۰۱) and an increase in the width of the hypertrophied area (P = ۰.۰۱۶). Propiconazole leads to a decrease in the width of the growth plate of the femoral epiphysis of immature rats. It can be a factor in disrupting the process of longitudinal bone growth and premature closure of the growth plate.

Growth plate, Bone tissue, Propiconazole, Oxidative stress, Rat