Biochemical impacts of the textile dyes Remazol Brillant Blue R and Congo Red on the crayfish Astacus leptodactylus (Decapoda, Astacidae)

In this study, we determined the effects of the textile dyes Remazol Brillant Blue R (RBBR) and Congo Red (CR) on the enzymatic activities of Glutathione S-Transferase (GST), cytochrome P450 (CYP1A1) and Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), in hepatopancreas of Astacus leptodactylus. The crayfishes were exposed to 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 mg/l of RBBR or CR, for 24 and 48 h. The recorded GST activity clearly increased after 24 or 48 h exposure to CR, compared to a control group (p<0.05), but the changes of GST activity depending on time and dose were not statistically significant in the RRBR group (p<0.05). The activity of CYP1A1 generally decreased, but LDH activity increased in the groups exposed to different doses of CR and RBBR, when compared to their control groups. Detoxification enzymes (as GST, and CYP1A1) and metabolic enzymes (as LDH) can be proven to make useful markers for further evaluating the physiological effects of CR and RBBR on crayfish.