Bee Products Prevent Agrichemical-Induced Oxidative Damage in Fish

Abstract

In southern South America and other parts of the world, aquaculture is an activity that complements agriculture. Small amounts of agrichemicals can reach aquaculture ponds, which results in numerous problems caused by oxidative stress in non-target organisms. Substances that can prevent or reverse agrichemical-induced oxidative damage may be used to combat these effects. This study includes four experiments. In each experiment, 96 mixed-sex, 6-month-old Rhamdia quelen (118±15 g) were distributed into eight experimental groups: a control group that was not exposed to contaminated water, three groups that were exposed to various concentrations of bee products, three groups that were exposed to various concentrations of bee products plus tebuconazole (TEB; Folicur 200 CE™) and a group that was exposed to 0.88 mg L−1 of TEB alone (corresponding to 16.6% of the 96-h LC50). We show that waterborne bee products, including royal jelly (RJ), honey (H), bee pollen (BP) and propolis (P), reversed the oxidative damage caused by exposure to TEB. These effects were likely caused by the high polyphenol contents of these bee-derived compounds. The most likely mechanism of action for the protective effects of bee products against tissue oxidation and the resultant damage is that the enzymatic activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST) are increased.

Antioxidant Potential of Propolis, Bee Pollen, and Royal Jelly: Possible Medical Application

“…Importantly, despite numerous differences in its composition, propolis extract always possesses antioxidant properties. Even the aqueous extracts of propolis were shown to display antioxidant capacity in cell culture and animal studies [ 9 , 12 ].…”

Italian acacia honey exhibits lytic effects against the crayfish pathogensAphanomyces astaciandFusarium avenaceum

“…Even if the investigation regarding cytotoxic effects of honey against invertebrates is still limited, applications of honey extracts in aquaculture, such as in promoting growth and preservation of several freshwater fish species (Ferreira et al . ; El‐Asely et al . ; Ögretmen and Burak ) are increasing.…”

Fish Aversion and Attraction to Selected Agrichemicals

“…Regarding GBH, despite the well-related negative effects (Cericato et al 2009(Cericato et al , 2008Koakoski et al 2014;Ferreira et al 2010Ferreira et al , 2012Ferreira et al , 2013Toni et al 2011;Jiraungkoorskul et al 2002;Langiano and Martinez 2008;Glusczak et al 2007;Armiliato et al 2014) fish actively avoided contaminated sites if concentrations were higher than 10 % of LC50. This fact represents a defensive behavior that can protect fish from the deleterious effects of GBH.…”

“…been widely used throughout the world in some cultures that have huge cultivated areas, such as soy and bean. GBH and ABH have been shown as moderate endocrine disruptors but also act as oxidative stressors for fish (Cericato et al 2008(Cericato et al , 2009Koakoski et al 2014;Ferreira et al 2010Ferreira et al , 2012Ferreira et al , 2013Toni et al 2011).…”