Journal
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
Volume 22, Issue 11, Pages 8010-8021Publisher
SPRINGER HEIDELBERG
DOI: 10.1007/s11356-014-2879-7
Keywords
Apis mellifera; Carotenoids; All-trans-retinol; alpha-Tocopherol; TBARS
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Funding
- Programme de soutien a l'innovation en agroalimentaire (PSIA) from Ministere de l'Agriculture, des Pecheries et de l'Alimentation du Quebec (MAPAQ) [811175]
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The decline in the population of pollinators is a worrying phenomenon worldwide. In North America, the extensive use of herbicides in maize and soya crops may affect the health of nontarget organisms like the honey bee. In this study, caged honey bees were exposed to realistic doses of atrazine, metolachlor, and glyphosate for 10 days via contaminated syrup. Peroxidation of lipids was evaluated using the thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) test, and diet-derived antioxidants-carotenoids, all-trans-retinol (at-ROH) and alpha-tocopherol-were detected and quantified using reversed-phase HPLC techniques. Significant increases in syrup consumption were observed in honey bees exposed to metolachlor, and a lower TBARS value was recorded for the highest dose. No relationship was observed between the peroxidation of lipids and the levels of antioxidants. However, beta-carotene, which was found to be the most abundant carotenoid, and at-ROH (derived from beta-carotene) both decreased with increasing doses of atrazine and glyphosate. In contrast, metolachlor increased levels of at-ROH without any effects on beta-carotene. These results show that the honey bee carotenoid-retinoid system may be altered by sublethal field-realistic doses of herbicides.
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