RESUMO
A laboratory experiment was conducted to examine the superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities and the lipid peroxidation (LPO) level presented by malondialdehyde (MDA) in visceral mass and mantle of green mussel (Perna viridis) after exposure to 0.5- 62.5 mg x L(-1) of di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) for 15 days, and to study the change characteristics of these biochemical indicators after the green mussel released into DBP-free seawater for 10 days. During exposure period, the SOD activity in visceral mass was inhibited first and then reached the level of the control at 0.5 and 2.5 mg x L(-1) of DBP, but inhibited significantly (P< 0.01) at 12.5 and 62.5 mg L(-1) of DBP. The CAT activity in visceral mass was inhibited at all test concentrations of DBP, while the LPO level was obviously induced. During the chronic DBP exposure, the SOD and CAT activities in the mantle were induced significantly but had no regular pattern, and the LPO level was also obviously induced. After the exposed green mussel was released into clean seawater, the SOD and CAT activities in the visceral mass in 12.5 and 62.5 mg DBP x L(-1) groups recovered much slowly, but the LPO level gradually recovered to control level. During the recovery period, the SOD activity in the mantle showed an increasing trend with time, but the CAT activity and LPO level reached gradually to the level of the control.