Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical, and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, 98166 Messina, Italy.
Research Group in Community Nutrition and Oxidative Stress (NUCOX), University of Balearic Islands, 07122 Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Aug 12;23(16):9018. doi: 10.3390/ijms23169018.
Pollution in the seas and oceans is a global problem, which highlights emerging pollutants and plastics, specifically microplastics (MPs), which are tiny (1 μm to 5 mm) ubiquitous plastic particles present in marine environments that can be ingested by a wide range of organisms. Holothurians are benthic organisms that feed on sediment; therefore, they can be exposed to contaminants present in the particles they ingest. The objective was to evaluate the effects of human activity on through the study of biomarkers. Specimens were collected in three different areas throughout the island of Eivissa, Spain: (1) a highly urbanized area, with tourist uses and a marina; (2) an urbanized area close to the mouth of a torrent; (3) an area devoid of human activity and considered clean. The results showed a higher presence of microplastics (MPs) in the sediments from the highly urbanized area in relation to the other two areas studied. Similarly, a higher number of MPs were observed in the digestive tract of from the most affected area, decreasing with the degree of anthropic influence. Both in the sediment and in the holothurians, fibers predominated with more than 75% of the items. In the three areas, mesoplastics were analyzed by means of FTIR, showing that the main polymer was polypropylene (27%) followed by low-density polyethylene (17%) and polystyrene (16%). Regarding the biomarkers of oxidative stress, the intestine of from the most impacted areas showed higher catalase, superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione reductase (GRd), and glutathione -transferase (GST) activities and reduced glutathione (GSH) levels compared to the control area. The intermediate area only presented significant differences in GRd and GST with respect to the clean area. The activities of acetylcholinesterase and the levels and malondialdehyde presented similar values in all areas. In conclusion, human activity evaluated with the presence of MPs induced an antioxidant response in , although without evidence of oxidative damage or neurotoxicity. , due to its benthic animal characteristics and easy handling, can be a useful species for monitoring purposes.
海洋污染是一个全球性问题，其中突出了新兴污染物和塑料，特别是微塑料（MPs），它们是存在于海洋环境中的微小（1μm 至 5mm）无处不在的塑料颗粒，可以被广泛的生物体摄入。海参是底栖生物，以沉积物为食；因此，它们可能会接触到摄入颗粒中存在的污染物。本研究的目的是通过研究生物标志物来评估人类活动对海参的影响。标本采集自西班牙伊维萨岛的三个不同区域：（1）高度城市化区域，有旅游用途和一个码头；（2）靠近河口的城市化区域；（3）无人为活动且被认为干净的区域。结果表明，高度城市化区域的沉积物中微塑料（MPs）的存在高于其他两个研究区域。同样，受影响最严重区域的海参消化道中观察到的 MPs 数量也更高，随着人为影响程度的降低而减少。在沉积物和海参中，纤维占比超过 75%。在这三个区域，通过傅里叶变换红外光谱法（FTIR）分析了中塑料，结果表明主要聚合物是聚丙烯（27%），其次是低密度聚乙烯（17%）和聚苯乙烯（16%）。关于氧化应激生物标志物，受影响最严重区域的海参肠道中的过氧化氢酶、超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）、谷胱甘肽还原酶（GRd）和谷胱甘肽 - 转移酶（GST）活性以及还原型谷胱甘肽（GSH）水平均高于对照区。中间区域仅在 GRd 和 GST 方面与清洁区有显著差异。乙酰胆碱酯酶的活性以及丙二醛的水平和含量在所有区域均表现出相似的值。综上所述，用 MPs 的存在评估人类活动会在海参中引起抗氧化反应，尽管没有证据表明存在氧化损伤或神经毒性。海参由于其底栖动物的特性和易于处理，可以作为监测目的的有用物种。
