Comparative study on the oxidative stress of commercially important fish species from localities with different ecological conditions along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast

The aim of the present study was to perform a pilot assessment and analysis of the oxidative stress (OS) level in four commercially important fish species (round goby, red mullet, sprat and horse mackerel) from different localities of the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. The fish were sampled during trawl selectivity experiments. The OS level in the fish was assessed by measuring lipid peroxidation (LPO), glutathione concentration (GSH), activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST), as well as acetylcholine esterase (AChE) in gills and liver. Round goby and red mullet caught in the Nessebar Bay showed clear signs of OS with the highest levels of LPO and GST activities, accompanied by the lowest AChE activities in both liver and gills. On the contrary, round goby caught near Maslen Nos (a region with good ecological conditions) were least affected by OS with low LPO and high GSH concentrations and SOD activity. There were no significant differences in the OS bioindicators of horse mackerel from the different localities. Sprat caught in Nessebar Bay, compared to those caught from the other localities, showed presence of OS indicated by lower GSH levels and relatively higher CAT, GPx and GST activities, accompanied by low AChE activity in gills. It can be concluded that round goby and red mullet were more vulnerable to OS induced by marine environmental factors than the horse mackerel and sprat. However, their antioxidant defense system allows them to tolerate and adapt to the environment of their habitats. Further studies are needed for the assessment of OS in important fish species in the Bulgarian part of the Black Sea.