Vitamin C mitigates oxidative stress and behavioral impairments induced by deltamethrin and lead toxicity in zebrafish

Environmental contamination from toxic metals and pesticides is an issue of great concern due to their harmful effects to human health and the ecosystems. In this framework, we assessed the adverse effects when aquatic organisms are exposed to toxicants such as deltamethrin (DM) and lead (Pb), alone or in combination, using zebrafish as a model. Moreover, we likewise evaluated the possible protective effect of vitamin C (VC) supplementation against the combined acute toxic effects of the two toxicants. Juvenile zebrafish were exposed to DM (2 μg L−1 ) and Pb (60 μg L−1 ) alone and in combination with VC (100 μg L−1 ) and responses were assessed by quantifying acetylcholin-esterase (AChE) activity, lipid peroxidation (MDA), some antioxidant enzyme activities (SOD and GPx), three‐dimension locomotion responses and changes of elements concentrations in the zebrafish body. Our results show that VC has mitigative effects against behavioral and biochemical alterations induced by a mixture of contaminants, demonstrating that it can be used as an effective antioxidant. Moreover, the observations in the study demonstrate zebrafish as a promising in vivo model for assessing the neuroprotective actions of bioactive compounds. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.