The production and use of pharmaceutical products have increased over the past decades, and several are considered potential or proved hazardous wastes. When contaminating the environment, they can severely impact biodiversity. The catecholamine epinephrine (adrenaline) is no exception. Epinephrine can be administered as growth promoter in cattle, and is used for anaphylaxis treatment in human. While a range of studies has examined the effects of this catecholamine on vertebrate tissues, and evidenced that it can disrupt the oxidative stress status, the effects epinephrine could have on insects have remained poorly considered. Here, we examined the physiological effects of different concentrations (0, 25, 50, and 100 μg/mL) of epinephrine on larvae of the flesh fly Sarcophaga dux. Following experimental treatments, levels of H₂O₂, GSH, CAT, GPx, and CEH were measured from the fat body, cuticle, gut, and hemolymph of 3rd instars. Significant differences are reported for these physiological endpoints among the considered body compartments, and epinephrine concentrations. Epinephrine treatments did not increase reactive oxygen species production (H₂O₂ amounts), except for gut tissues. Increased levels of GSH suggest that epinephrine may have enhanced glucose metabolism and flux towards the pentose phosphate pathway, while reducing glutamine oxidation. CAT activity was slightly increased when the concentration of epinephrine was higher. The decreased GPx activity in the fat body was consistent with GSH variations. In sum, the injection of epinephrine seemed to elicit the antioxidant response in S. dux larvae, in turn attenuating ROS production.

在过去的几十年中，药品的生产和使用有所增加，其中一些被认为是潜在的或已证实的危险废物。当污染环境时，它们会严重影响生物多样性。儿茶酚胺肾上腺素（adrenaline）也不例外。肾上腺素可作为牛的生长促进剂施用，并用于人类的过敏反应治疗。虽然一系列研究已经检查了这种儿茶酚胺对脊椎动物组织的影响，并证明它可以破坏氧化应激状态，但肾上腺素可能对昆虫产生的影响仍未得到充分考虑。在这里，我们检测了不同浓度（0、25、50 和 100 μg/mL）肾上腺素对肉蝇Sarcophaga dux幼虫的生理影响. 实验处理后，测量了第 3 龄幼体的脂肪体、角质层、肠道和血淋巴中H ₂ O _{2 、GSH、CAT、GPx 和 CEH 的水平。}在所考虑的身体隔室和肾上腺素浓度中，这些生理终点报告了显着差异。肾上腺素治疗不会增加活性氧的产生（H ₂ O ₂量），肠道组织除外。GSH 水平升高表明肾上腺素可能增强葡萄糖代谢和向磷酸戊糖途径的流动，同时减少谷氨酰胺氧化。当肾上腺素浓度较高时，CAT 活性略有增加。脂肪体内 GPx 活性的降低与 GSH 的变化一致。总而言之，肾上腺素的注射似乎引发了S. dux幼虫的抗氧化反应，进而减弱了 ROS 的产生。