Effect of the water-soluble fraction of petroleum on microsomal lipid metabolism of Macrobrachium borellii (Arthropoda: Crustacea)

In vivo results indicate that WSF increased the activity of microsomal enzymes that are critical in lipid metabolism, though this change was not due to direct alterations in membrane fluidity, suggesting a synthesis induction, or an enzyme-regulatory mechanism. Nevertheless, hydrocarbons elicited membrane fluidity alterations in in vitro experiments at concentrations that could be found in the environment after an oil spill.