Sea Farms as a Safe and Sustainable Food Source: An Investigation on Use of Seaweeds for Liver Detoxification and Reduced DNA Damage in Lates Calcarifer (Bloch, 1790)

The present research was conducted on fish mesocosms using a non-lethal cadmium concentration as a trace metal pollutant to verify, respectively, whether post-remediation by Ulva lactuca reduces the need for activation of cellular antioxidative defenses and DNA repair mechanisms. Spectrophotometric evaluation of the antioxidant Glutathione S-Transferase and total soluble and fat-soluble antioxidant capacity, molecular detection of genotoxicity by mobility shift tests, and radio detection of DNA repair by PolyADP-ribosilation (PARP) were performed on the Lates calcarifer liver. Cadmium represents an environmental risk but its toxic effect seems mitigated by the bioaccumulation properties of Ulva lactuca. We detected high total soluble antioxidant capacity, low Glutathione S-Transferase levels as well as low levels of PARP and undamaged DNA in the fish liver when seaweeds were added as compared to standard feeding. These results suggest a safe and sustainable implementation of Lates calcarifer sea farming using Ulva lactuca.