Trimethoprim Effect on Ascorbate Content in Freshwater Bivalve Lamellidens

Ascorbate or ascorbic acid is nothing but vitamin C which plays various vital roles in invertebrates and vertebrates. It is one of the important tools to indicate the alterations induced by chemicals and pollutants. After a small surgery for implanting a bead in various tissues of bivalves, they are used to treat with water mixed with antibiotic. This leads towards the reduction in death of bivalves ultimately gives high yield of pearls. Thus has a commercial importance. The antibiotic treatment on bivalves may alter metabolic reactions occurring in the bivalve.In the present work freshwater bivalves, Lamellidens corrianus are exposed to a sulfa drug trimethoprim and its impact on the ascorbic acid content is studied in different tissues of L. corrianus. The LC50/2 and LC50/10 concentrations are used to give treatment to the bivalves are 174.80PPM and 34.96 PPM respectively for 4 days and 21 days. After the treatment their tissues are dried and dry powder used to estimate Ascorbic acid content. The estimation of ascorbic acid is done by hydrazine method given by Roe (1967). The results are expressed in mg per 100 mg of dry tissue.Ascorbate content is affected due to trimethoprim acute and chronic treatment. The level of ascorbic acid showed an overall decrease in all tissues. The maximum ascorbic acid content was observed in mantle and lowest in digestive gland. The maximum decrease was observed in gill(70.37% % 75 %) followed by ovary(68.18% & 40.71%), digestive gland ( 58.62% & 38.46%) and whole body (50% & 31.57% ) after acute and chronic exposures of trimethoprim while foot showed increasein ascorbate content (50%) after chronic treatment of 21 days.