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Can Vitamin C Supplementation Improve the Antioxidant Capacity of Rhamdia quelen Fish Exposed to Atrazine?

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Abstract

Atrazine (ATZ) is one of the pesticides mostly widely used in Brazil; several studies have shown the toxic effects of this herbicide on aquatic organisms such as fish. Thus, it is absolutely necessary finding alternatives to protect the health of fish, mainly of species commercially important for aquaculture, which may be exposed to atrazine deriving from agricultural runoff. The aim of the current study was to investigate interactions between dietary supplementation with vitamin C (Vit C) antioxidant and exposure to ATZ in Rhamdia quelen fish exposed to this herbicide. R. quelen specimens were divided into four groups: (1) CTRL, (2) VitC, (3) ATZ, (4) ATZ + VitC. Groups 3 and 4 were exposed to ATZ (10 µg L−1) for 96 h, after 30 days of VitC supplementation (1 g kg−1). Liver samples were collected for biomarker assays. Group 4 was the only group presenting decreased protein carbonyl content. Non-protein thiol (NPSH) levels were significantly higher in groups VitC, ATZ and ATZ + VitC than in CTRL. Group ATZ + VitC presented significant increase in glutatione-peroxidase (GPx) activity in comparison to the other investigated groups. Ascorbic acid (AA) levels were significantly higher in group VitC and lower in group ATZ. Therefore, interactions between herbicide ATZ and dietary supplementation with Vit C have shown biochemical changes in R. quelen fish. Thus, dietary supplements with adequate amounts of Vit C can be added as antioxidants to the diet of fish bred in aquaculture systems in order to protect them from exposure to ATZ.

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Acknowledgements

The current study was partly funded by Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior—Brazil (CAPES)—Finance Code 001. Vania Lucia Loro was granted with research fellowship from CNPq (National Research Council), Process number: 309314/2017-8. We would like to thank Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM) for the support and for making its facilities available. Students were granted with fellowships from the Brazilian agency CAPES.

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Animal Biodiversity, Federal University of Santa Maria, Santa Maria, RS, Brazil

    Jeane de Lima Costa Gomes & Vania Lucia Loro

  2. Biological Sciences-Toxicological Biochemistry, Federal University of Santa Maria, Santa Maria, RS, Brazil

    Jeane de Lima Costa Gomes, Aline Monique Blank do Amaral, Bibiana Silveira Moraes & Vania Lucia Loro

  3. Environmental Engineering, Federal University of Santa Maria, Santa Maria, RS, Brazil

    Tamiris Rosso Storck & Barbara Clasen

  4. Department of Environmental Sciences, State University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

    Barbara Clasen

Authors
  1. Jeane de Lima Costa Gomes
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  2. Aline Monique Blank do Amaral
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  3. Tamiris Rosso Storck
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  4. Bibiana Silveira Moraes
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  5. Vania Lucia Loro
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  6. Barbara Clasen
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Correspondence to Barbara Clasen.

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Ethical Approval

The proposal of the present study was submitted to the Ethics Committee on the Use of Animals (CEUA) of the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM), having received the CEUA approval certificate nº 4302190117.

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Gomes, J.d.C., do Amaral, A.M.B., Storck, T.R. et al. Can Vitamin C Supplementation Improve the Antioxidant Capacity of Rhamdia quelen Fish Exposed to Atrazine?. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 82, 551–557 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-022-00926-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-022-00926-7

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