Antioxidant activity in the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) in response to triclosan exposure

The biocide triclosan (TCS, 5-chloro-2-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)phenol) is commonly used in several personal care products, textiles, and children's toys. Because the removal of TCS by wastewater treatment plants is incomplete, its environmental fate is to be discharged into freshwater ecosystems, where its ecological impact is largely unknown. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of TCS on the antioxidant enzymatic chain of the freshwater mollusk zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha). We measured the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx), as well as the phase II detoxifying enzyme glutathione S-transferase (GST) in zebra mussel specimens exposed to 1 nM, 2 nM, and 3 nM TCS in vivo. The mussels were exposed for 96 h, and the enzyme activities were measured every 24 h. We measured clear activation of GST alone at all three dose levels, which shows a poor induction of the antioxidant enzymatic chain by TCS. CAT and SOD were activated only at 3 nM, while GPx values overlapped the baseline levels.