Long-term exposure of polychaetes to caffeine: Biochemical alterations induced in Diopatra neapolitana and Arenicola marina.
In the last decade studies have reported the presence of several pharmaceutical drugs in aquatic environments worldwide and an increasing effort has been done to understand the impacts induced on wildlife. Among the most abundant drugs in the environment is caffeine, which has been reported as an effective chemical anthropogenic marker. However, as for the majority of pharmaceuticals, scarce information is available on the adverse effects of caffeine on marine benthic organisms, namely polychaetes which are the most abundant group of organisms in several aquatic ecossystems. Thus, the present study aimed to evaluate the biochemical alterations induced by environmentally relevant concentrations of caffeine on the polychaete species Diopatra neapolitana and Arenicola marina. The results obtained demonstrated that after 28 days exposure oxidative stress was induced in both species, especially noticed in A. marina, resulting from the incapacity of antioxidant and biotransformation enzymes to prevent cells from lipid peroxidation. The present study further revealed that D. neapolitana used glycogen and proteins as energy to develop defense mechanisms while in A. marina these reserves were maintained independently on the exposure concentration, reinforcing the low capacity of this species to fight against oxidative stress.
Department of Biology & CESAM, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal.
Adília
A
Pires
Department of Biology & CESAM, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal.
Ângela
Â
Almeida
Department of Chemistry & CESAM, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal.
Vânia
V
Calisto
BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Richard-Willstaetter Str. 11, Berlin, Germany.
Rudolf J
RJ
Schneider
Department of Chemistry & CESAM, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal.
Valdemar I
VI
Esteves
Department of Geography, University of Victoria, National Water Research Institute, STN CSC, Victoria, BC, Canada.
Frederick J
FJ
Wrona
Department of Biology & CESAM, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal.
Amadeu M V M
AMVM
Soares
Department of Biology & CESAM, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal.
Etelvina
E
Figueira
Department of Biology & CESAM, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal. Electronic address: rosafreitas@ua.pt.
Rosa
R
Freitas
D000818:Animals; D001711:Biotransformation / Q000187:drug effects; D002110:Caffeine / Q000633:toxicity*; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation / Q000187:drug effects; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects; D011077:Polychaeta / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity*
D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D002110:Caffeine
Energy reserves; Invertebrates; Oxidative stress biomarkers; Pharmaceuticals