8.2 Biochemical indicators
Biochemical indicators are based on the ability of the pollutant to generate a response at the gene level, inducing or increasing specific enzymes involved
with detoxification of contaminants (Fig. 3.4). The extent of this expression serves as a measure of the available concentration of the pollutant. Table 3.10 gives some examples of biochemical indicators used to follow the effect of a number of pollutants. The detoxification of xenobiotics is carried