ABSTRACT The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of benzocaine and tricaine methanesulfonate on oxidative stress parameters of juvenile tambaqui tissues. Fish (n=80) were anesthetized with benzocaine (100 mg L-1) or tricaine (240 mg L-1) and two control groups were used (non-anesthetized fish and fish exposed to ethanol-only). After anesthetic induction 10 fish/anesthetic were euthanized after 3, 12 and 24 hours post-anesthesia and tissue samplings (gills, liver and brain) were performed. Samples were submitted to analyses of enzyme activity glutathione-S-transferase (GST), cellular lipid peroxidation (TBARS) and total antioxidant capacity (ACAP). ACAP increased in gills of benzocaine treatment after 12 hours. The liver showed a reduction in ACAP of tricaine treatment after 12 hours. Both anesthetic treatments showed an increase of ACAP at 24 hours compared to control group. The activity of the GST enzyme increased in the gills for treatments benzocaine and tricaine after 3 and 12 hours. Liver showed increased GST activity (benzocaine after 24 hours and tricaine after 3 and 24 hours). Lipid damage decreased in gills (both anesthetics) and brain (tricaine) after 24 hours. The results demonstrate that benzocaine and tricaine did not cause oxidative damage in juvenile tambaqui under the experimental conditions herein established.

When laboratory intercomparison exercises are conducted, there is no a priori dependence of the concentration of a certain compound determined in one laboratory to that determined by another(s). The same applies when comparing different methodologies. A existing data set of total mercury readings in fish muscle samples involved in a Brazilian intercomparison exercise was used to show that correlation analysis is the most effective statistical tool in this kind of experiments. Problems associated with alternative analytical tools such as mean or paired 't'-test comparison and regression analysis are discussed.

As caraterísticas cinéticas (Km) de colinesterases do caranguejo Chasmagnathus granulata, o camarão Farfantepenaeus paulensis e o peixe Odontesthes bonaeriensis foram comparadas e correlacionadas com os efeitos anticolinesterásicos da eserina (fisostigmina). Nos crustáceos, o valores estimados de Km foram aproximadamente 5-8 vezes maiores do que aquele estimado para a espécie de peixe (0.04 mM). No caranguejo e camarão, a concentração de eserina que inibiu 50% da atividade colinesterásica (CI50) foi estimada em 5.33x10-4 e 4.33x10-4 mM, respectivamente. Estes valores foram significativamente maiores (P < 0.05) que aquele estimado para as larvas de peixes (7.43x10-5 mM). Um valor de Km mais elevado poderia refletir uma menor afinidade da colinesterase pelo seu substrato natural, acetilcolina, ou análogos tais como inseticidas carbamatos e fosforados. Se a CI50 para eserina é considerada como um índice da susceptibilidade da enzima a inibição por inseticidas, logo a colinesterase de larvas de peixes poderiam ser uma ferramenta mais útil no monitoramento de inseticidas do que aquelas das espécies de crustáceos.

The kinetic characteristic (Km) of cholinesterase from the crab Chasmagnathus granulata, the shrimp Farfantepenaeus paulensis and the fish Odontesthes bonaeriensis were compared and correlated with the anticholinesterasic effect of eserine (physostigmine). For the crustaceans, the estimated Km values were about 5-8 times higher than that estimated for the fish (0.04 mM). In the crab and the shrimp, the concentration of eserine which inhibited 50% of cholinesterase activity (IC50) was estimated as 5.33x10-4 and 4.33x10-4 mM, respectively. In both cases, it was significantly higher (P < 0.05) than that estimated for the fish larvae (7.43x10-5 mM). A high Km could reflect a lower affinity of the cholinesterase for its natural substrate, acetylcholine, or for substrate analogues such as carbamates and organophosphorous pesticides. If we consider the IC50 for eserine as an index of enzyme susceptibility to pesticide inhibition, the cholinesterase from the fish larvae may be a better useful tool in assays for pesticide biomonitoring than that from crustacean species.