Application of acteylcholineesterase activity in marine organisms as a biomarker of coastal pollution
Abstract
The marine environment, is continually being polluted by different types of neurotoxic contaminants like organophosphorus, carbamate insecticides, heavy metals and various other neurotoxins from various sources along the coasts. These neurotoxic compounds adversely affect the health of the marine ecosystem by inhibiting the acetylchoinesterase (AChE) activities of various species of marine organisms. This paper presents the effective use of acteylcholineesterase activities in marine gastropod, Cerethedia cingulata from different sites along the Goa coast as a useful biomarker technique for evaluation of the ecotoxicological impact of neurotoxic compounds. The AChE activity was measured by the standard method using acetylcholine bromide as the substrate and bromothymol blue as the indicator in phosphate buffer medium. The enzyme activity was measured in terms of nanomoles of acetic acid liberated per mg of protein per minute from the enzyme-substrate reaction. The AChE activities of the marine gastropod showed wide variation along the Goa coasts viz: Palolem, 80.65, Tirakol, 78.38, Hollant: 54.784 and Dona Paula: 35.515. The results were compared with those from the reference sites at Palolem and Tirakol (AChE activity: 80.853 and 78.383 respectively). It provides an insight into the levels of contamination of the Goan coastal environment by neurotoxic contaminants
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