Effects of cadmium on lipid metabolism in female estuarine crab, Chiromantes dehaani

Due to the nature of their habitat, which contains a high level of pollutants, estuarine crabs are at great risk of exposure to contaminants such as cadmium. Thus, in this study, the effects of cadmium on lipid metabolism were investigated in estuarine crab Chiromantes dehaani. Adult female estuarine crabs were randomly exposed to 0.05, 0.1, 0.5, and 1 mg/L of CdCl₂ for 7, 14 and 21 days, after which the lipid contents of the hepatopancreas and ovary were measured. Also, the substance contents and the activities of the enzyme in lipid digestion, lipid synthesis and lipid transport metabolism were analyzed. The results showed that the lipid contents in the hepatopancreas and ovary of the exposed crabs decreased after prolonged exposure to cadmium compared to the control. The lipase activity decreased while the activities of fatty acid synthase and acetyl coenzyme A in the hepatopancreas increased on day 7 but decreased on days 14 and 21. Moreover, the change in non-esterified fatty acid level was similar to fatty acid synthase. The level of low-density lipoprotein increased in the exposed crabs compared to the control group while the level of high-density lipoprotein and the activity of lipoprotein lipase decreased at a higher concentration of cadmium and longer exposure time. These observations suggest that cadmium decreases the lipid content by weakening the ability of digestion, transportation and synthase of lipid, thus affecting hepatopancreas and ovary indices.