Background:esfenvalerate(esfen)  is a type II of synthetic pyrethroid that has replaced other groups of insecticides due to its improved insecticidal potency. The objective of this study was to investigate the toxicity of pyrethroid insecticides on liver tissues of rats and  the  possible role of antioxidant plant (curcumin )  as a protective agent against  oxidative stress   and   histological alterations.
Material and methods: forty male albino rats were divided into 8 groups of 5 rats /each: G1: served as control and G2: served as  positive control received (100mg/kg curcumin ), G3,G4 and G5 had oral administration  (1/20 LD50, 1/40 LD50 and 1/60 LD50 of esfenvelerate ) respectively and the last three groups(G6,G7and G8) were received the same doses of pesticide plus 100mg /kg curcumin for 28 days daily.
Results: exposure of rats to (esfen)   induced significant increase in the levels of MDA and  significant  decrease in total protein , GSH ,SOD and catalase whilst the  insecticides doses plus curcumin showed decrease in  MDA for high and medium dose and ameliorated the reduction of  total protein concentration in low dose.  We   showed that  curcumin  acts as an effective antioxidant for esfen pesticide toxicity by reducing oxidative stress burden   and histological damage.