Petroleum, mutagenic potential

Exposure of various invertebrate species to high concentrations of petroleum did not induce mixed function oxidase activity. Enzyme activity was stimulated, however, in a number of fish tissues by petroleum. Different permutations can be addressed as to the significance of basal or induced levels of mixed function oxidases and hydrocarbon toxicity. AHH may have a physiological role in enhancing hydrocarbon clearance but may also increase the mutagenic-carcinogenic potential of hydrocarbons. Both of these concepts have been demonstrated in studies with fish (29,30). Induced AHH levels may permit a more rapid oxidative transformation with concomitant "disappearance" of parent hydrocarbons, but potentially toxic metabolites could be retained in tissues for longer periods (31). It is likely that at the enzymic level the... 

To investigate the effects of crude oil contamination on native marine fishes, Barsiene et al. (2006), applied the MN test in peripheral blood erythrocytes and in cephalic kidney cells of the turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) and of the Atlantic cod Gadus morud) exposed, in in vivo simulations, to this pollutant. Besides the exposition to crude oil, the authors also carried out assays with the addition of alkylphenol and PAHs into the oil with the objective to estimate the potential risk caused by the produced polluted water from the petroleum platforms since the presence of these chemicals is described in these areas. The results obtained in this work indicated a mutagenicity caused by the exposition to crude oil in both cellular types and species of fishes tested. The authors reported that the MN fi equency of the cephalic kidney cells was two times higher than of the peripheral blood erythrocytes, which can be due to the fact that the cephalic kidney is the main hematopoietic tissue in teleost fishes. The authors also showed that the addition of alkylphenol and PAHs elevated, significantly, the MN frequency indicating an increase in the induced mutagenicity. 

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