Assessing the toxicant effect of spontaneously volatilized 4-vinylcyclohexane exposure in nymphs of the lobster cockroach Nauphoeta cinerea

Publication date: Available online 16 September 2019Source: Environmental Toxicology and PharmacologyAuthor(s): Emily Pansera Waczuk, Roger Wagner, Bruna Klein, João Batista Teixeira da Rocha, Daniel M.P. Ardisson-Araújo, Nilda Vargas BarbosaAbstractVinylcyclohexene (VCH) is an environmental contaminant well known for its ovotoxicant effects in several organisms. However, the mechanisms underlying the toxicity of VCH as well as its harmful effects toward other organs are until unclear. In this work, we assess some endpoint signals of toxicity induced by volatilized VCH exposure using nymphs of the lobster cockroach Nauphoeta cinerea. Nymphs were exposed to VCH via inhalation for 70 days. The levels of volatilized VCH were quantified by headspace gas chromatography and the concentration varied between 3.417 and 7.030 nmol/µl. VCH inhalation caused a reduction of 35 % in the survival rate of the exposed animals. Nymphs exposed to volatilized VCH for 35 and 70 days had a reduction in the body weight gain of 1.8- and 2.6-fold, respectively with a reduction in dissected head, fat body, and maturing reproductive organs. The exposure did not change water consumption, excepting on the 20th day (with a 3-fold change) and decreased the food intake significantly. Regarding biochemical markers, we found that the activity of GST from the dissected organs was increased by volatilized VCH after both 35 and 70 days of exposure. The fat body presented the most prominent GST activity espe...
Source: Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology - Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research