Abstract
Living organisms have several mechanisms of detoxification of xenobiotics for their self-protection. The genera] pathways of biotransformation follow the conversion of lipophilic xenobiotics into more hydrophilic metabolites. Cytochrome P450 (CYP) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) are important families of enzymes involved in the biotransformation of xenobiotics. A number of environmental pollutants are known as inducers of CYP and GST experssion levels. Therefore, the induction phenomenon of metabolizing enzymes in organisms by xenobiotics may be useful as a biomarker for monitoring the levels of environmental pollution. I n this paper, I reviewed the suitability of xenobiotic-metabolising enzymes in aquatic animals as biomarkers of the level of water pollution.
