Maximiliano_2014_Ecotoxicol.Environ.Saf_113C_287

Different enzyme biomarkers (AChE: acetylcholinesterase, CbE: carboxylesterase, GST: glutathione-S-transferase, CAT: catalase) were measured in digestive tissues of Lysapsus limellum frogs collected from a rice field (RF: chlorpyriphos sprayed by aircraft) and a non-contaminated area (RS: reference site), immediately (24h) and 168h after aerial spraying with chlorpyrifos (CPF). CPF degradation was also searched in water samples collected from RF and RS, and found that insecticide concentration was reduced to approximately 6.78% of the original concentration in RF at 168h. A significant reduction of AChE and CbE activities was detected in L. limellum from RF in stomach and liver at 24 and 168h, and in intestine only at 24h, with respect to RS individuals. CAT activity decreased in intestine of L. limellum from RF 24h and 168h after exposure to CPF, whereas GST decreased in that tissue only at 24h. In stomach and liver, a decrease was observed only at 168h in both CAT and GST. The use of biomarkers (AChE, CbE, GST, and CAT) provides different lines of evidences for ecotoxicological risk assessment of wild frog populations at sites contaminated with pesticides.