Use of atropine-treated Daphnia magna survival for detection of environmental contamination by acetylcholinesterase inhibitors

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2003

Authors

Carvalho, FD (Author) FFUP; Machado, I (Author) Other; Martinez, MS (Author) Other; Soares, A (Author) Other; Guilhermino, L (Author) ICBAS

Journal

Title: Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety

Vol. 54

Pages: 43-46

ISSN: 0147-6513

Publisher: Elsevier

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 11 Citations

Scopus - 18 Citations

Scientific classification

FOS: Medical and Health sciences > Basic medicine

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-000-JH4

DOI: 10.1016/s0147-6513(02)00018-0

Abstract (EN): The toxicity of cholinesterase-inhibiting compounds (e.g., carbamates and organophosphates) is due to a decrease in acetylcholine metabolism, which results in a continuous stimulation of cholinergic receptors (muscarinic and nicotinic) that can be fatal. The goal of this study was to evaluate the protective effect of atropine (muscarinic receptor antagonist) against paraoxon-induced toxicity to Daphnia magna using its survival rate for the detection of environmental contamination by cholinesterase-inhibiting compounds. As expected, paraoxon was lethal to D. magna in a concentration-dependent manner. Noteworthy, the pretreatment of these organisms with atropine dramatically increased their survival against paraoxon. These results indicate that muscarinic stimulation plays an important role in paraoxon-induced lethality in D. magna. Therefore, simply by using the survival of atropine-treated and nontreated D. magna, water contamination by cholinesterase-inhibiting compounds may be rapidly and specifically detected.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 4