Effect of the electric field at 50 Hz and variable intensities on biochemical markers in the honey bee's hemolymph

PloS one · 2021 · Harm · Low evidence

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HarmLow evidencePaper 1126

Honey bee workers exposed to a 50 Hz electric field (<1 to 34.5 kV/m) showed decreased hemolymph AST, ALT, and ALP activity. The decreases intensified with longer exposure duration, and exposure also altered hemolymph creatinine and albumin concentrations.

Study snapshot

PublicationPloS one · 2021

Study typeanimal

Reported directionHarm

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

Effect of the electric field at 50 Hz and variable intensities on biochemical markers in the honey bee's hemolymph Paweł Migdał, Agnieszka Murawska, Paweł Bieńkowski, Aneta Strachecka, Adam Roman. Effect of the electric field at 50 Hz and variable intensities on biochemical markers in the honey bee's hemolymph. PLoS One. 2021 Jun 24;16(6):e0252858. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0252858. Abstract The amount of artificial electromagnetic fields of various parameters in the honey bee's environment increases globally. So far, it had been proven that exposure to an E-field at 50 Hz can cause changes in bee's behavior, alter the activity of proteases, and enzymatic antioxidants. Due to the potentially harmful effect of this factor on honey bees, we decided to investigate the activity of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and the concentration of albumin and creatinine in bee's hemolymph after exposure to 50 Hz E-field. Honey bee workers were placed in wooden cages (200 × 150 × 70 mm) and exposed to the 50 Hz E-field with the intensity of <1, 5.0, 11.5, 23.0, or 34.5 kV/m for 1, 3, 6, or 12h. A homogeneous 50 Hz E-field was generated in the form of a plate capacitor. Hemolymph samples for analysis were taken immediately after the end of exposure to the E-field from 100 bees from each group. According to our study, the activity of AST, ALT, and ALP in honey bees' hemolymph decreased after exposure to 50 Hz E-field with various intensities. The decrease in AST, ALT, and ALP activity intensified with prolonged exposure time. 50 Hz E-field may cause the impairment of crucial metabolic cycles in the honey bees' organism (such as the citric acid cycle, ATP synthesis, oxidative phosphorylation, β-oxidation). Moreover, exposure to E-Field altered the concentration of creatinine and albumin, which are important non-enzymatic antioxidants. Such changes may indicate a disturbance in protein metabolism and increased muscle activity. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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AI evidence extraction

Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typeanimal

Effect directionharm

PopulationHoney bee (Apis mellifera) workers

Sample size100

ExposureELF · 0.05 MHz · 1, 3, 6, or 12 h

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 78% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Outcomes measured

Hemolymph aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activity
Hemolymph alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity
Hemolymph alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity
Hemolymph albumin concentration
Hemolymph creatinine concentration

Limitations

Only immediate post-exposure hemolymph sampling is described (no longer-term follow-up stated).
Exposure source is a laboratory-generated homogeneous field (plate capacitor), which may not represent real-world exposure conditions.
Only biochemical markers are reported in the abstract; clinical/colony-level outcomes are not described.

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "animal",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "ELF",
    "source": null,
    "frequency_mhz": 0.05,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "1, 3, 6, or 12 h"
  },
  "population": "Honey bee (Apis mellifera) workers",
  "sample_size": 100,
  "outcomes": [
    "Hemolymph aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activity",
    "Hemolymph alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity",
    "Hemolymph alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity",
    "Hemolymph albumin concentration",
    "Hemolymph creatinine concentration"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Honey bee workers exposed to a 50 Hz electric field (<1 to 34.5 kV/m) showed decreased hemolymph AST, ALT, and ALP activity. The decreases intensified with longer exposure duration, and exposure also altered hemolymph creatinine and albumin concentrations.",
  "effect_direction": "harm",
  "limitations": [
    "Only immediate post-exposure hemolymph sampling is described (no longer-term follow-up stated).",
    "Exposure source is a laboratory-generated homogeneous field (plate capacitor), which may not represent real-world exposure conditions.",
    "Only biochemical markers are reported in the abstract; clinical/colony-level outcomes are not described."
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.78,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "honey bee",
    "Apis mellifera",
    "electric field",
    "ELF",
    "50 Hz",
    "kV/m",
    "hemolymph",
    "AST",
    "ALT",
    "ALP",
    "albumin",
    "creatinine",
    "biochemical markers"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "occupational-exposure",
      "weight": 0.2,
      "reason": "Study uses an ELF (50 Hz) electric-field exposure paradigm relevant to power-frequency environments, though no occupational setting is explicitly stated."
    }
  ]
}

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AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

Identifiers and source

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0252858
PubMed: 34166412

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