THE IMPACT OF PETROLEUM HYDROCARBONS ON THE BIOCHEMICAL PARAMETERS IN HEPATOPANCREAS OF THE BLACK SEA MUSSEL MYTILUS GALLOPROVINCIALIS

Abstract

Almost all oil components are more or less toxic and have a toxic effect on aquatic organisms, and some groups of petroleum hydrocarbons (PH) can accumulate in organs and tissues and transmitted through food chains. Depending on the duration and scale of PH pollution, a wide range of responses can be observed – from physiological and biochemical, morphological, behavioral anomalies at organism level to structural and functional rearrangements in populations and communities. The study of the biochemical response in tissues of bivalve mollusks living in conditions of elevated PH concentrations in the experiment is necessary to understand the mechanisms of metabolism reorganization and adaptive reactions that occur in the body of hydrobionts when exposed to toxicants. The paper presents the results of a study of the PH effect on the parameters of the prooxidant-antioxidant system parameters (superoxide dismutase and catalase activities, level of lipid peroxidation and oxidized proteins) and amnotransferase activities (alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase) in hepatopancreas of the Black Sea mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis in the acute toxicological experiment. The results of the experiment allowed to establish that PH at concentrations of 0.5 mg/l (10 MPC) and 1 mg/l (20 MPC) do not affect the activity of aminotransferases, but stimulate the development of oxidative stress by shifting the prooxidant-antioxidant balance towards the intensification of lipid peroxidation and protein oxidization; at the 1 mg/l concentration PH cause activation of superoxide dismutase and inhibition of catalase activity. Prooxidant-antioxidant system parameters demonstrate high sensitivity to PH and can be used along with other recommended parameters to assess the functional state of mollusks in conditions of oil environmental pollution.