Oxidative stress biomarkers in wild board (Sus scrofa) from North-West of the Iberian Peninsula

Abstract

The existence of polluting chemical compounds in the environment is a threat both to living beings and to the ecosystem as a whole. Ecotoxicology is therefore developing new tools, such as the use of biomarkers, with the aim of evaluating the effect of these pollutants. Many studies have discussed the role of oxidative stress indicators as potentially useful parameters in the field of environmental pollution. However, studies focused on wildlife, and more specifically on wild boar (Sus scrofa), are scarce, despite the wide geographical distribution of this ungulate, which would allow its use as a bioindicator in environmental biomonitoring programmes. In the present study, the levels of two oxidative stress biomarkers, malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione reductase (GR), were determined in the kidney tissue of wild boar from NW Spain. In addition, the influence of sex on the values obtained was evaluated. The overall mean values were 1.811 ± 0.426 nmoles/mg protein for MDA, and 0.079 ± 0.019 picomol/min/mg protein for GR activity. With regard to the influence of the sex factor, statistically significant differences were found in the levels of MDA, with higher levels of oxidative stress in males than in females. These results constitute a baseline of oxidative stress biomarker levels in game species for use in future biomonitoring studies.