Effect of Aspergillus flavus on lipid peroxidation and activity of antioxidant enzymes in midgut tissue of Spodoptera litura larvae

Abstract

In the present study, effect of Aspergillus flavus was analysed on lipid peroxidation and activities of antioxidant enzymes in midgut of Spodoptera litura. Fungus was administered to the larvae of S. litura using artificial diet method having 1.34 mg/mL (LC50) concentration. The fungus toxicity was observed after 24, 48, 72 and 96 h post treatment in the midgut tissue of insect larvae by examining lipid peroxidation (MDA content) and activities of antioxidant enzymes viz superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APOX) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST) as oxidative stress markers. Additionally, repair of the damage caused due to fungal treatment was also assessed to decipher the longevity of effect by giving control diet to the exposed larvae for two days after particular time exposure using same parameters. In particular, significant (p ≤ 0.05) increased level of lipid peroxidation and antioxidant enzymes activities was observed in all exposure time groups with respect to control which showed that midgut of exposed larvae has oxidative predominance. Repair studies demonstrated the negligible repair in insect larvae. In conclusion, A. flavus contributed to strong oxidative stress and toxicity in S. litura larvae.

Keywords:

• Antioxidant enzymes
• Aspergillus flavus
• lipid peroxidation
• Spodoptera litura

Acknowledgements

The grants received from UGC (University Grant Commission), New Delhi, India under SAP (Special Assistance Program) and UPE schemes are thankfully acknowledged.

Ethical approval

This article does not contain any studies involving human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

Disclosure statement

All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Availability of data and materials

All data generated or analysed during this study are included in this article and its additional files.

Authors’ contributions

PC, AK and SK designed the study and analysed the content. MK performed the experiments and analysed the content related to it. All authors have read and approved the manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Grant from UGC (University Grant Commission) – SAP (Special Assistance Program) and UPE grants. Grant number of SAP-No.F.4-4/2016/DRS-I (SAP-II). Funding bodies had no roles in study design and collection, analysis, and interpretation of data, or preparation of the manuscript.