Combined application of biochemical and chemical parameters in the liver of round goby Neogobius melanostomus (Pallas, 1814) for assessing the quality of water bodies

Bioindication assessment of three areas in the Sea of Azov (Pre-strait (PS), Open Sea (OS) and Taganrog Bay (TB)) by using some biochemical (superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), aminotransferase, cholinesterase (ChE) activities, albumin (Alb) content, levels of oxidized proteins (OP) and lipid peroxidation (LPO) as well as chemical (mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn)) parameters in the liver of round goby Neogobius melanostomus (Pallas, 1814) was carried out. The results of the CE analysis in the liver of fish from three locations did not exceed the maximum permissible concentrations (MPC), with the exception of Cu. Cu content amounted 1.4, 1.7 and 9.5 MPC in the liver of fish from PS, OS and TB regions respectively. Concentrations of Hg, Pb, Fe and Cu were higher in the liver of specimens from TB and decreased in a number of locations: TB & RARR; OS & RARR; PS, that is in line with the data on biochemical analyses. Inhibition of SOD activity, imbalance in the processes of peroxide neutralization as well as the shift of prooxidant-antioxidant reactions towards LPO in the liver of gobies from TB region indicate toxic chemical impacts and less favorable ecological state of this location compared to PS and OS areas. High informativeness of the combined use of the biochemical and chemical parameters in the liver of round goby for assessing the quality of marine environment with different levels of chemical pollution was shown. & COPY; 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.