Table 4.
Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in the larvae, pupae and midguts of honey bees exposed to RF-EMFs at a frequency of 900 MHz and electric field levels of 70 mV m−1 (medium electric field—MEF), 30 mV m−1 (low intensity—LI) and 1000 mV m−1 (high intensity—HI) at 2 weeks, 5 months and 1 year.
| Sampling Time | Location | Electric Field Level (mV m−1) | SOD (Unit mg−1 proteins) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Larvae (N = 30) |
Pupae (N = 20) |
Midguts (N = 50) |
|||
| 2 weeks | MI | 70 | 3.97 ± 0.51 | 3.70 ± 0.63 ab | 3.07 ± 0.30 bc |
| LI | 30 | 4.45 ± 0.49 | 5.87 ± 1.23 ab | 4.13 ± 0.50 bc | |
| HI | 1000 | 5.29 ± 0.32 | 4.99 ± 1.03 ab | 3.63 ± 0.38 bc | |
| 5 months | MI | 70 | 3.61 ± 0.58 | 2.73 ± 0.63 ab | 4.69 ± 0.50 bc |
| LI | 30 | 5.46 ± 0.37 | 2.11 ± 0.25 b | 3.71 ± 0.30 bc | |
| HI | 1000 | 4.64 ± 0.31 | 3.38 ± 0.50 ab | 6.52 ± 0.58 ab | |
| 1 year | MI | 70 | 4.14 ± 0.41 | 4.85 ± 0.77 ab | 2.56 ± 0.25 c |
| LI | 30 | 5.41 ± 0.58 | 4.13 ± 0.66 ab | 6.08 ± 1.63 abc | |
| HI | 1000 | 3.75 ± 0.39 | 7.54 ± 1.75 ab | 9.34 ± 1.31 a | |
Results are presented as the mean (M) ± standard error of the mean (SEM). Values with different letters in the same column are significantly different according to the Tukey HSD test at p < 0.05.