Blood oxidative stress and antioxidant defense profile of White Stork Ciconia ciconia chicks reflect the degree of environmental pollution

Oxidative stress biomarkers in the blood of White Stork Ciconia ciconia chicks were analyzed during their development in nests in polluted and control environments. The control, relatively pure, environment was the village of Kłopot, with no industrial plants within a radius of 150 km. Blood samples were also collected in two polluted areas, including the suburban village of Czarnowo, located 20 km from the city of Zielona Góra (southwestern Poland) and an area near the town of Głogów, where a large Copper Manufacture is situated. We measured two markers of oxidative stress (2-thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and stable 2,4-dinitrophenyl hydrazine derivates of the oxidative modified carbonyl groups levels), as well as antioxidant defenses (superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase and glutathione reductase activities, ceruloplasmin and total antioxidant capacity levels) in the blood samples. White Stork chicks from different environments are probably significantly susceptible to environmental conditions. In the unpolluted area, chicks showed lower lipid and protein oxidation levels, indicating that the variation in the pollution-induced oxidative stress among areas is dependent of environmental loads. Increased oxidative stress biomarkers can modify antioxidant defenses in chicks from various environments, principally causing increased glutathione peroxidase activity in chicks from polluted regions. Therefore, the use of oxidative stress biomarkers to assess the health and condition of chicks will be useful in future studies aiming to identify miscellaneous environmental loading