Abstract: 【Objective】The objective of this study is to explore the effect of salbutamol on the growth, development, life span, anti-oxidative capacity and DNA damage in Drosophila melanogaster, to further provide the basis for improvement of the more effective detection method.【Method】The 1st-instar larvae were fed with salbutamol and the pupate and emergence of flies were recorded, the pupation rate and the eclosion rate as well as pupation and eclosion time were counted. One day after eclosed, adult flies were fed up with normal medium and salbutamol medium, in which the concentrations of salbutamol were 0.48, 2.4,12 and 24 μg·mL^-1. Fifty flies for each medium(1﹕1 for male﹕female) and the experiment was repeated for 4 times. The number of lived flies was recorded every day. The medium was replaced every three days until all of the flies died. The 50 % lethal time, average longevity and average maximum time were recorded and calculated, respectively. The 3-day old adult flies which feed up with salbutamol or minimum medium were collected. Tissue homogenate of 30 adult flies (1﹕1 for male﹕female) were then prepared and centrifuged at 2 500 r/min and within 10 minutes. The enzyme activity kit were used to detect the enzymatic activities of SOD and CAT as well as the content of MDA. The 3-day old adult flies were used to detect the DNA damage of Drosophila mid-gut by the single cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE). The DNA damage of Drosophila cells were observed under a fluorescence microscope and photos were taken, then the images were analyzed by comet analysis software Cometscore^TM.【Result】Statistical analysis showed that the pupation rate and the eclosion rate decreased with the increasing concentration of Salbutamol, but there was no significant difference (P＞0.05). Statistical analysis also showed that the time of pupation and eclosion among the salbutamol treatments had no significant difference (P＞0.05). The enzymatic activities of SOD and CAT of the 3-day old adult flies were assayed, and the content of MDA of the 3-days old adult flies was also measured. The results showed that the content of MDA was increased significantly (P＜0.05) and the enzymatic activity of CAT was reduced significantly (P＜0.05) when the concentration of the salbutamol was increased. The antioxidant system was destroyed and the enzymatic activity of SOD increased significantly (P＜0.05). As the action of antioxidant system make the life-span of fly become longer. DNA damage detection experiments suggested that salbutamol caused the DNA damage of the fly cells. The SCGE experiment showed significant differences in the tail length (TL), olive tail moment (OTM), and tail DNA percentage (%DNA in tail) between flies grown in salbutamol treated medium and control.【Conclusion】Salbutamol has no influence on the pupation and eclosion of flies. It plays an important role in antioxidant system. Salbutamol restrains the enzymatic activity of CAT but increased enzymatic activity of SOD. High level of salbutamol can increase the life-span of flies significantly. It causes the DNA damage of the fly cells but not arouse the apoptosis.

Key words: salbutamol, Drosophila melanogaster;oxidative damage, single cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE), DNA damage