Environmental Stress Pollutants are assessed using an Advanced Biomarker Method
Received: 04-Oct-2021 Accepted Date: Oct 21, 2021 ; Published: 29-Oct-2021
Citation: Walker B (2021) Environmental Stress Pollutants are assessed using an Advanced Biomarker Method. EJBI. 17(10): 72-73. DOI: 10.24105/ejbi.2021.17.10.72-73
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Abstract
To assess environmental quality in areas where pollution is a serious hazard due to fast urbanisation and industrialisation, an integrative biomarker method was used. Thousands of toxins enter the environment every day, putting creatures and ecosystems under duress. Because of the diversity in chemical nature and mechanism of toxicity of the pollutants, as well as variance in sensitivities of the species exposed to the pollutants, risk assessment of these pollutants to organisms and ecosystems is difficult. Even low, seemingly harmless amounts of contaminants can have harmful effects on organisms, which are difficult to predict because measurable effects only appear after extended exposure. When these early impacts manifest, however, it may be too late to take corrective action or efforts to limit risk. As a result, early warning signals or biomarkers must be developed that accurately indicate unfavourable biological reactions to manmade environmental toxins, even at minute doses.
Keywords
Biomarker, Environmental Biomarker, Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA)
Introduction
The potential of metabolites, enzymatic activities, and changes in plant performance as environmental biomarkers is examined. Biomarkers, which range from molecules to ecosystems, can be employed as an early warning system for specific or general stress. The degree of previously current adaptation to environmental stress, as well as the homogeneity of the researched population, will determine the sensitivity of a species and, thus, the efficacy of a biomarker. Biomarkers for individual environmental stresses are sparse; biomarkers for environmental stress complexes such as heavy metals, physiological drought, and severe temperature, as well as biomarkers as a reaction to a broad range of environmental pressures, are more well-known [1]. A biological molecule found in blood, other bodily fluids, or tissues that indicate if a process is normal or aberrant, or whether a condition or disease exists. A biomarker can be used to determine how well the body responds to an illness or condition‘s therapy. Biomarkers are divided into two categories: biomarkers of exposure, which are used in risk prediction, and biomarkers of disease, which are used in disease screening, diagnosis, and monitoring. Blood pressure and heart rate are examples of biomarkers, as are simple metabolic investigations and x-ray findings, as well as complicated histologic and genetic examinations of blood and other tissues. Biomarkers are extremely significant in medicine. We‘re all used to going to the doctor and getting all of our test results, and even imaging - x-ray results or CAT scans - are biomarkers that tell us how our bodies are doing and are measurable. A biomarker is defined as “a change in biological response, ranging from molecular to cellular and physiological responses to behavioural alterations, which can be linked to environmental chemical exposure or harmful effects” [2]. The creation of novel, more sensitive verified biomarkers of exposure, effect, and susceptibility to the detrimental impacts of terrestrial and aquatic pollutants has been aided by recent advances in molecular biology and biotechnology, as well as the design of sophisticated instruments. Biomarkers are observable changes in a biological system as a result of a chemical, physical, or biological interaction. These modifications can be molecular, biochemical, physiological, or histological, and they can be caused by xenobiotic exposures or impacts. Although molecular and cellular biomarkers are important in biomedical and human health research, their application in ecotoxicology and risk assessment has been restricted. Case examples will be used to explore the challenges of biomarker research as well as their importance in explaining poor outcomes. Hypoxia, medicines (antihypertensive medications), and graphene oxide nanoparticles are among the stressors studied in three different investigations. These studies show how dosage, duration of exposure, test species and tissues, and interactions between the contaminant and its environment can all alter biomarker readings. Organisms are subjected to a variety of chemical and physical forces in the field, against a backdrop of naturally occurring seasonal changes. Biomarkers have the potential to serve as rapid integrative measurements that alert to hazardous situations at a biologically relevant level, allowing for a more proactive risk assessment. Biomarkers have shown to be effective in establishing proof of pollutant chemical exposure and impairment to the health of sentinel species. Furthermore, biomarkers have aided in the establishment of causal linkages [3]. However, a deeper understanding of the role of biomarkers in existing integrated ERA legislation frameworks is now required. A set of sensitive biomarkers that detect short-term reactions as well as longer-term ecologically relevant end points should be employed in ERA frameworks to give a weight-of-evidence strategy for establishing links between environmental stressors and ecological consequences is advocated.
Conclusion
It‘s critical to take an integrated approach to ecosystem health, with biomarkers and bioassays adding value and providing additional information to the chemical and ecological community metrics now in place. The results of such tests can be used to link molecular occurrences to a negative outcome that could harm the organism. The importance of assessing cellular changes in marine species is demonstrated using examples of pharmacological and nanoparticle exposures. The use of biomarkers to understand new toxins and environmental stress is very useful.
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