Elsevier

Chemosphere

Volume 53, Issue 8, December 2003, Pages 883-888
Chemosphere

Ascorbic acid supplementation of diet for reduction of deltamethrin induced stress in freshwater catfish Clarias gariepinus

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0045-6535(03)00557-5Get rights and content

Abstract

Static bioassays were made to evaluate efficiency of supplementation of ascorbic acid to remove stress of pyrethroid pesticide deltamethrin from freshwater catfish Clarias gariepinus. Clarias gariepinus exhibited several symptoms of stress when treated with deltamethrin (0.005 mg/l) for 24 h. Hepatosomatic index, liver glycogen, ascorbic acid of blood, liver, and kidney decreased while plasma glucose levels increased. Fish previously fed for 60 days with a diet supplemented by a high level of ascorbic acid (100 mg/100 g) could remove most of the stresses. Low levels of ascorbic acid supplement did not remove the stress. Dietary supplement of ascorbic acid at also appropriate level appeared to be a good way to counter toxicity of deltamethrin to the catfish.

Introduction

Ascorbic acid is an essential nutrient for fish (Halver, 1989). However, most fishes cannot synthesize this vitamin (Chatterjee, 1973). Natural resources of ascorbic acid are also often insufficient for natural growth of fish. Thus, an exogenous supply of this nutrient is desirable for optimal growth and production of fish. Kutsky (1973), Blanco and Meade (1980), and Halver (1989) indicated that dietary supply of ascorbic acid not only helps in promoting growth but also protects the fish from the toxicities of many chemicals. Agrawal et al. (1978) and Guha et al. (1993) observed that ascorbic acid could be used as an antitoxic agent against pesticide toxicity to fish. However, the dietary requirement of ascorbic acid to produce toxicant resistance in fish depends upon species and the type of toxicant. Sobhana et al. (2002) observed that 1000 mg vitamin C (ascorbic acid) supplement per kg diet increased survivality of Cirrhinus mrigala and reduced inflammatory responses to the bacterial pathogen Aeromonas hydrophila.

Considering the multifaceted role played by ascorbic acid, we investigated the effectiveness of ascorbic acid in reducing the stress caused by deltamethrin to the freshwater catfish Clarias gariepinus. Deltamethrin is a fourth generation synthetic pyrethroid. It is commonly used in India mostly to control stored-grain pests. Lethal doses (LC-50 values) of deltamethrin (K-Obiol®) to Clarias gariepinus for different hours of exposure were determined previously (Datta and Kaviraj, 2003). However, the stress caused by the pesticide at sublethal concentrations to C. gariepinus is still unknown. Thus it is necessary not only to know the stress of the pesticide at sublethal concentration but also to protect the fish from the stress of this pesticide.

Section snippets

Materials and methods

Thirty healthy adult specimens of Clarias gariepinus (average body weight 34.3 ± 3.1 g and average body length 18.6 ± 0.9 cm) were collected from a local hatchery and acclimatized in 50 l glass aquaria in tap water for one week under a natural photoperiod (12 h) and ambient temperature (25–28 °C). They were then randomly divided into three groups and fed with prepared diets containing different levels of ascorbic acid for two months. Group one received the basal diet with no addition of ascorbic

Experimental design and statistical analyses

Experiments were made using a 2×3 factorial design (two levels of deltamethrin and three levels of ascorbic acid in the diet) with three replicates (Table 3, Table 4). Data from all dependent variables were analyzed by MANOVA and test statistics using Wilk’s λ and Roy’s largest root. Contrast between levels of pesticide for each level of ascorbic acid was tested by contrast analysis for MANOVA (Johnson and Wichern, 2001).

Results

Exposure of the test fish to 0.005 mg/l deltamethrin for 24 h resulted in reductions of HSI, liver glycogen and ascorbic acid level in blood, liver, and kidney in groups of fish having no protection of dietary ascorbic acid (Table 5, Table 6). Plasma glucose level increased after deltamethrin treatment. Deltamethrin treatment in fish previously fed with ascorbic acid supplemented diet produced a different effect. The effects of deltamethrin, ascorbic acid and the interaction between

Discussion

Very little information exists on sublethal toxicity of pyrethroids to fishes. However, fish gills can adsorb even minute concentrations of the pesticide because of the lipophilic nature of pyrethroids (Smith and Stratton, 1986). Deltamethrin is highly toxic to fishes. Even minute concentration (0.01 mg/l) of deltamethrin (dissolved in acetone) could cause 50% mortality (LC-50) of C. gariepinus in 24 h (Datta and Kaviraj, 2003). Present results indicate that 0.005 mg/l deltamethrin is not

Acknowledgements

We thank the Head, Department of Zoology, University of Kalyani for providing necessary facilities for this research and Mr. S. Mukhuti for helping us in computation.

Madhuban Datta was born in 1976. She completed her Master degree in Zoology in 1998 from the University of Kalyani in India and qualified in the National Eligibility Test (NET) for doing doctoral research in 2000. She is now doing doctoral research under the supervision of Dr. Anilava Kaviraj.

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    Madhuban Datta was born in 1976. She completed her Master degree in Zoology in 1998 from the University of Kalyani in India and qualified in the National Eligibility Test (NET) for doing doctoral research in 2000. She is now doing doctoral research under the supervision of Dr. Anilava Kaviraj.

    Dr. Anilava Kaviraj was born in 1954. He completed his Master degree in Zoology in 1977 and Ph.D. in 1983. He is a faculty member in the University of Kalyani in India and is at present holding the post of Reader in Zoology. He has guided several Ph.D. students and has published more than 60 research papers.

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