engleski

Neonicotinoids: evaluation of physiological and biochemical responses of Gammarus fossarum koch.

Imidacloprid is a nicotine-derived widely used insecticide of neonicotinoid chemical family, with a preferred insect neurotoxic action. Since a still limited number of studies referring to this compound and its persistence in the environment, it presents a potential important hazard for the contamination of soil and freshwater ecosystems with additive/cumulative effects on biota and human health. Therefore, we have chosen to explore baseline of imidacloprid biological effects on non-target aquatic bioindicator species such as Gammarus fossarum (Amphipoda, Crustacea). We tested the effect of different doses of imidacloprid on animal survival, behaviour, changes of total protein content and general biochemical biomarkers (e.g. enzymatic activities). Our data demonstrated an overall lower toxicity of imidacloprid after 24 h incubation, with no loss in live mass, nor significant changes in the mortality rate with respect to control. We found that low concentrations of imidacloprid (0.4 μM) resulted in increased lipid peroxidation levels, while no effects were observed on achetylcholinesterase and catalase activities. Interestingly, intermediate 0.6 and 0.8 μM concentration of imidacloprid resulted in a significant depression of acetylcholinesterase activity. Our results provide the basis for further development of new protocols useful for the risk assessment of chronic exposure of complex pesticides mixtures in the aquatic environment.

neonicotinoids; Gammrus; imidaclprid; biochemical response

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