Do nanoparticles cause hormesis? Early physiological compensatory response in house crickets to a dietary admixture of GO, Ag, and GOAg composite

This study aimed to identify the physiological responses of house cricket females following short-term exposure to relatively low dietary doses of graphene oxide (GO, 20 jig center dot g-1 food), silver (Ag, 400 jig center dot g-1 food) nanoparticles (NPs), or graphene oxide-silver nanoparticle composite (GO-AgNPs, 20: 400 jig center dot g-1 food). Energy intake and distribution were measured on the third, sixth, and tenth day. A semi-quantitative API (R) ZYM assay of digestive enzyme fingerprints was performed on the third and tenth day of continuous treatment. Physicochemical properties of the NPs were obtained by combining SEM, EDX spectrometry, AFM, and DLS techniques. The obtained results showed decreased energy consumption, particularly assimilation as an early response to dietary NPs followed by compensatory changes in feeding activity leading to the same consumption and assimilation throughout the experimental period (10 days). The increased activities of digestive enzymes in NP-treated females compared to the control on the third day of the experiment suggest the onset of compensatory reactions of the day. Moreover, the insects treated with GO-AgNP composite retained more body water, suggesting increased uptake. The observed changes in the measured physiological parameters after exposure to NPs are discussed in light of hormesis. (c) 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license

Automated summary

The study found that house cricket females experienced decreased energy consumption after exposure to nanoparticles, but were able to achieve energy balance through compensatory changes in feeding activity. Additionally, the NP-treated group showed increased digestive enzyme activity, while the GO-AgNP composite promoted water uptake in the insects.