Ultraviolet-B light induced oxidative stress: Effects on antioxidant response of Spodoptera litura

• Prolonged exposure to UV-B inhibits ROS scavenging ability of insects.
• ROS ability of insects functions best at shorter duration of toxic exposure.
• Chronic UV-B exposure lowers the level of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants.

Ultraviolet light (UV-B), which emits radiation in the range of 280–315 nm, has been used worldwide in light trapping of insect pests. In this article, we test the hypothesis that one of the duration of UV-B exposure has a differential impact on oxidative stress marker enzymes in Spodoptera litura. Effect of UV-B exposure on total protein and antioxidant activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), peroxidases (POX) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST) were investigated in S. litura. The adults were exposed to UV-B light for various time periods (0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 min). We found that exposure to UV-B light for 30 and 60 min resulted in increased activities of POX. When the exposure time lasted for 60 and 90 min, the activities of SOD remained significantly higher than the control. However, the POX, CAT and GST activity decreased to control levels at 90 and 120 min. whereas relatively long duration exposure activates the xenobiotics detoxifying enzymes like GST and POX and CAT enzymes. Longer UV-B exposure may interfere with pesticide detoxification mechanism in insects, making them more susceptible to insecticides.