Article Abstract

Volume 32, No. (4), 2022 (August)
ASSESSMENT OF THE STATE OF THE TERRESTRIAL ENVIRONMENT IN SKIKDA REGION (ALGERIA) USING ENZYMATIC ACTIVITY AND ENERGY RESERVE CONTENTS OF LAND SNAILS, CANTAREUS ASPERSUS
N. Zaidi, L. Douafer, A. Hamdani and N. E. Soltani

N. Zaidi1*, L. Douafer2, A. Hamdani3 and N. E. Soltani3

1Laboratory for the Optimization of Agricultural Production in Subhumid Areas, Faculty of sciences, University of Skikda, 21000-Skikda, Algeria

2Faculty of Sciences, Department of Biology, University of Mila, 43000-Mila, Algeria

3Laboratory of Applied Animal Biology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University Badji Mokhtar of Annaba, 23000-Annaba, Algeria

Page Number(s): 1072-1084
Published Online First: January 06, 2022
Publication Date: July 30, 2022
ABSTRACT

Environmental pollution is one of the most significant issues in industrial regions. Land snails are commonly used as suitable organisms to monitor environmental pollution. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the effects of anthropogenic pollution on biochemical biomarkers in land snails, Cantareus aspersus. Snails were obtained from four sites of northeastern Algeria, namely El-hadaiek, Azzaba, Ben-Azzouz (Skikda city) and El-Kala (E-Taref city). The sites of Skikda city were selected in this study because of their proximity to industrial factories, while the El-Kala site was used as a reference site (control site) for its far location from pollution sources. Moreover, the enzymatic activities of glutathione S-transferase (GST) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE), and the three energy reserves (glycogens, lipids and proteins) were measured in the digestive gland of snails collected from each site during the winter and spring seasons. The results revealed a significant variation in the AChE activity and energy reserves between sites and seasons, along with significant correlationsbetween the enzymatic and non-enzymatic biomarkers. The highest activity of GST and total proteins were observed during spring in snails of Azzaba site, identified as the closest site to potential pollution sources. In addition, AChE activity was significantly decreased during spring, as well as depletion of lipid and glycogen contents with the highest values was recorded in the site of Azzaba. Conclusively, the land snails, C. aspersus are proven as sentinel organisms effectively used in biomonitoring of terrestrial environment in Skikda region.

Keywords: Pollution, Cantareus aspersus, Biomarkers, Energy reserves, Oxidative stress, Skikda city

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Journal Impact Factor: 0.5 | (JCR Year: 2025) | Cite Score: 1.3

HEC Category: W

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ISSN Details

Print ISSN: 1018-7081

Electronic ISSN: 2309-8694

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