Volume: 4, 2025
4th International PhD Student’s Conference at the University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Poland:
ENVIRONMENT – PLANT – ANIMAL – PRODUCT
Abstract number: E004
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24326/ICDSUPL4.E004
Published online: 9 April 2025
ICDSUPL, 4, E004 (2025)
The influence of selected anthropogenic factors on enzymatic biomarkers of oxidative stress in earthworms (Lumbricidae) and snails Cepaea nemoralis (Helicidae) Polesie
Aleksandra Garbacz1*, Grzegorz Grzywaczewski1
1 Department of Zoology and Animal Ecology, Faculty of Environmental Biology, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Akademicka 13, 20-950 Lublin, Poland
* Corresponding author: aleksandra.garbacz@up.lublin.pl
Abstract
Oxidative stress is a condition that occurs when the balance between antioxidant and prooxidant processes in the cell is disturbed, which results in excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS). In order to assess the effects of stressors, it is important to use biomarkers such as catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD), which play a key role in antioxidant defense mechanisms. The research hypothesis assumed that selected anthropogenic factors that are environmental stressors cause intra-organism fluctuations in the studied oligochaetes and land snails Cepaea nemoralis Polesia. The aim of the study was to determine the effect of anthropogenic factors on enzymatic biomarkers of oxidative stress in earthworms and snails Cepaea nemoralis Polesia. The study subjects were earthworms and snails collected in Polesie at sites under the influence and without the influence (control) of anthropogenic pollutants. The activity of antioxidant enzymes such as catalase and superoxide dismutase was determined in earthworms and snail foot. For CAT, the decrease in absorbance was tested at 240 nm, while for SOD, absorbance was measured at 550 nm for 1 minute. The studies conducted showed that the activity of catalase and superoxide dismutase was higher in earthworms and snail foot from sites without the influence of anthropogenic pollutants compared to those individuals collected from sites with the influence of these pollutants. The obtained results imply the inclusion of these studies in the panel of physiological biomarkers of invertebrates.
Keywords: enzymatic biomarkers, oxidative stress, earthworms, snails
How to cite
A. Garbacz, G. Grzywaczewski, 2025. The influence of selected anthropogenic factors on enzymatic biomarkers of oxidative stress in earthworms (Lumbricidae) and snails Cepaea nemoralis (Helicidae) Polesie. In: 4th International PhD Student’s Conference at the University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Poland: Environment – Plant – Animal – Product. https://doi.org/10.24326/ICDSUPL4.E004