Toxicity of four herbicide formulations with glyphosate on Rhinella arenarum (anura: bufonidae) tadpoles: B-esterases and glutathione S-transferase inhibitors.

ABSTRACT

In this study, amphibian tadpoles Rhinella arenarum were exposed to different concentrations of Roundup Ultra-Max (ULT), Infosato (INF), Glifoglex, and C-K YUYOS FAV. Tadpoles were exposed to these commercial formulations with glyphosate (CF-GLY) at the following concentrations (acid equivalent [ae]) 0 (control), 1.85, 3.75, 7.5, 15, 30, 60, 120, and 240 mg ae/L for 6-48 h (short-term). Acetylcholinesterase (AChE), butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), carboxylesterase (CbE), and glutathione S-transferase (GST) activities were measured among tadpoles sampled from those treatments that displayed survival rates >85%. Forty-eight-hour LC(50) for R. arenarum tadpoles exposed to CF-GLY in the static tests ranged from ULT = 2.42 to FAV = 77.52 mg ae/L. For all CF-GLY, the LC(50) values stabilized at 24 h of exposure. Tadpoles exposed to all CF-GLY concentrations at 48 h showed decreases in the activities of AChE (control = 17.50 ± 2.23 nmol/min/mg/protein; maximum inhibition INF 30 mg ae/L, 71.52%), BChE (control = 6.31 ± 0.86 nmol/min/mg/protein; maximum inhibition INF 15 mg ae/L, 78.84%), CbE (control = 4.39 ± 0.46 nmol/min/mg/protein; maximum inhibition INF 15 mg ae/L, 81.18%), and GST (control = 4.86 ± 0.49 nmol/min/mg/protein; maximum inhibition INF 1.87 mg ae/L, 86.12%). These results indicate that CF-GLY produce a wide range of toxicities and that all enzymatic parameters tested may be good early indicators of herbicide contamination in R. arenarum tadpoles.