ARTEMIA-SALINA AS A TEST ORGANISM FOR MEASURING SUPEROXIDE-MEDIATED TOXICITY

The purpose of this study was to examine the possibility of using Arte mia salina as a test organism in the search for compounds having the a bility to protect against superoxide-mediated toxicity. The basic proc edure for the assay using Artemia salina was performed as described in previous literature, with minor modifications. We found that Artemia salina are extremely sensitive to menadione bisulfite, a compound whos e toxicity is probably mediated by intracellular superoxide generation . Desferrioxamine (desferal), a compound with known protective effects , was shown to display dramatic protective activity in our system. We also observed that an inhibitor of endogenous superoxide dismutase (SO D) activity increased the toxicity of menadione toward Artemia salina. In conclusion, this simple, inexpensive, and convenient assay could b e a valuable addition to a screening effort in the search for compound s that will be protective against damage by superoxide or other active oxygen species.