Background:

Flame retardants are compounds that are applied as additives to various products in order to reduce fire risks, among the most used are brominated flame retardants (BFR) due to their cost and efficiency. These compounds can reach and impact aquatic environments; however, a review of oxidative stress in fish is lacking.

Goals:

To provide a review on the induction of oxidative stress in fish induced by brominated flame retardants and to contribute new lines of research.

Methods:

A Google Scholar search was carried out and thirty articles were considered according to the inclusion criteria.

Results:

Brominated flame retardants are capable of inducing reactive oxygen species, damage to cell membranes, proteins and DNA, as well as modifying the response of biomarkers related to antioxidant defence. It was also found in in vitro studies that a possible cause of oxidative stress induction by these compounds occurs through alterations in mitochondrial activity that cause increases in the production of reactive oxygen species.

Conclusions:

It is necessary to increase studies that consider BFR mixtures, particularly tetrabromobisphenol A and the new brominated flame retardants because their presence in the environment is likely due to the absence of regulatory restrictions on their use. Carry out studies with fish species with reduced geographical distribution due to their high susceptibility to pollutants. Use biomarkers that involve oxidative damage and antioxidant defences to obtain a broad panorama of these phenomena in the same study and contribute to other toxicological investigations that collaborate in the establishment of standards that control the release of these pollutants into the environment.