黑料网

Abstract

Crude oil exploration inevitably contributes to environmental pollution owing to endless combustion that contributes to climate change and its effects. Crude oil toxicity is a matter of global concern and has been a major concern in the oilrich Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Earthworms have been scientifically proven to be worthy sentinel for ecotoxicological studies and their toxicity studies have been proven to be highly significant. The present study supports an array of past studies that sub-lethal concentrations of crude oil and its fractions were able to down-regulate the activities of some key antioxidant enzymes. In this short-term study, antioxidant enzymes including Superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), and glutathione reductase (GRX) were assessed in earthworms exposed to various concentrations of crude oil fractions and its fractions. Antioxidant enzyme alterations visible in this study mean that soil organisms could suffer untold system degradation damage and even mortality in crude oil-contaminated environments.