Effect Of NP On Antioxidant Enzyme Activities In Aquatic Organism

Nonylphenol (NP) is a degradation product of a kind of non-ionic surfactant, nonylphenol ethoxylate. The latter is widely used in the industries of paper-making, rubber, plastics and cleanser, and is closely related to our daily life. However, nonylphenol is a kind of endocrine disrupting chemical which can cause adverse effects to organisms. Therefore, understanding of its negative ecological effects has important realistic meanings to ecological protection and health maintenance of human beings. This study was mainly designed to evaluate the acute toxicities of NP to the anti-oxidant enzymes of aquatic organisms, the Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) and the Catalase (CAT), to discuss the possibilities of using SOD and CAT as biomarkers of nonylphenol contamination and to provide the supervision of NP pollution in the water.The superoxide dismutase and catalase in both gills and digestive gland of Chlamys farreri were first investigated. The Chlamys farreri was exposed to nonylphenol at various concentrations. After 6h,24h and 48h of exposure, the activities of SOD and CAT in both gills and digestive gland were measured. The result showed that in gills and digestive gland, the activities of SOD and CAT in low concentration treatment groups (0.05,0.10 and 0.20mg/L) were increased slightly after 6h, but the activities of SOD and CAT in high concentration treatment groups (0.40,0.80,1.60mg/L) were decreased after 6h. After 48h of exposure, the activities of SOD and CAT in all treatment groups were significantly different from the control.The effects of NP on SOD and CAT activities in both gills and digestive gland and re-burrowing capability of the clam Tapes philippinarum were investigated after 7 days'exposure to various sublethal concentrations of NP. The result showed that in gills and digestive gland, the activities of SOD and CAT in high concentration treatment groups (0.20 and 0.40mg/L) were significantly different...