Antioxidant Enzyme Responses to Lead Exposure of Gammarus pulex

It is aimed to investigate the activity response of the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase of G. pulex exposed to lead. The G. pulex was exposed synthetic solutions containing 10, 30, 50 µg/L lead for 96 h. Superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase activities were determined by using ELISA kit. The differences in superoxide dismutase activities were statistically insignificant (P>0.05). Catalase decreased in all treatment groups after lead exposure (P<0.05). The glutathione peroxidase activities were decreased depending on lead exposure (P>0.05). Our findings suggest that lead can induce oxidative stress by generating reactive oxygen species and inhibiting sulfhydryl dependent antioxidant enzymes activities. In conclusion, alterations in antioxidant enzymes may potentially be used as sensitive biomarkers for risk assessment of lead in the environment and may contribute to the establishment of discharge regulations.