Histopathological Alterations In Organs of Nile Tilapia Fingerlings Exposed To Sub-Lethal Concentrations of Aqueous Crude Leaves Extract of Desert Date

Abstract

Background: Histopathological changes have been widely used as biomarkers in determining the effects of pollutants on fish. Leaves of Balanites aegyptiaca, a deep-rooted, evergreen or semi-deciduous, multi-branched, spiny tree have been reported to have pesticidal, anaesthetic and ichthyotoxic effects. This study sought to find out the effect of sub-lethal concentrations (5.00, 11.00, 21.00, 43.00, and 86.00 mg/L) of B. aegyptiaca on histopathology of gills, kidney, and liver of mixed-sex Oreochromis niloticus fingerlings Methods: A total of 120 O. niloticus fingerlings (mean weight 23±0.03 g and mean total length 12.50±0.39 cm) were exposed to aqueous crude leaves extract of B. aegyptiaca. The gills, kidney, and liver were excised and processed routinely for the elucidation of histopathological changes Results: Dose-dependent histopathological changes were observed in the three organs (gills, kidney and liver) of O. niloticus exposed to graded concentrations of B. aegyptiaca. Gills showed moderate to severe secondary lamellae fusion, desquamation, and primary lamellae congestion while the kidney displayed mild to severe renal tubular epithelial cell degeneration and necrosis as well as pigmentation of renal tissues. The liver showed varying degrees of histo-architectural alterations such as hepatocellular degeneration and necrosis, cellular infiltrations, kupffer cell proliferation, portal, and sinusoidal congestions Conclusion: Owing to these histological alterations in the gills, kidney, and liver observed in this study, prolonged exposure of fish to B. aegyptiaca should be discouraged to preserve fish diversity

Acute Toxicity of Tuber Peels of Tacca leontopetaliodes on the Biochemistry and Histology of Gills and Liver of Clarias gariepinus Juveniles

“…The grades in the severity of hepatic lesions (hepatocellular degeneration, sinusoidal congestion and cellular infiltration) observed in this study have further validated the hepatic enzymes results earlier stated and could reflect a remarkable derangement in the normal functioning of the liver. These observations on hepatic histopathological lesions are in agreement with similar studies reported by Audu et al, [12,39].…”

“…This is in line with the findings of Kumar et al, [37] after exposing Heteropneustes fossilis to varied concentrations of Neem extract, Azadirachtin. Gill lesions (lamella cell depletion and complete histo-architectural distortion) observed in the present study corroborate the observations of [38,39,12]. Similar lamella depletion has also been reported by Kumar et al, [37].…”

“…These findings on dissolve oxygen and free carbondoxide are similar to the report of Audu et al, [27] on acute concentrations of B. aegyptiaca exposed to Oreochromis ni- loticus fingerlings. Water with high TA level is considered productive for fish culture [12]. The test water of the present study could be considered as ideal for fish culture since the TA range between 29.55 and 137.00 mg/L is within the recommended level of alkalinity for fresh water system of 5-500 mg/L [28,29].…”

“…Prior to the commencement of the experiment, fish were fed with a commercial feed (Multi feeds ® ; 2 mm) at 3% body weight twice daily. After acclimatization, experimental fishes were transferred into twelve (12) circular plastic tanks with ten (10) fish per tank and fed twice daily (0800 and 1800 hrs). Photoperiod was natural (12 light: 12 dark) and water from all the tanks were changed daily with fresh dechlorinated municipal water.…”

“…Six (6) rectangular plastic tanks (45x30x25cm) containing sixty (60) mixed sex C. gariepinus juveniles (mean weight and length: 12.5±0.5 g and 13.2± 0.5 cm respectively) with each tank housing 10 fish were filled with 10 L of dechlorinated municipal tap water per tank. Five (5) of the tanks were inoculated with various concentrations (5.00, 4.00, 3.00, 2.00, 1.00 g/L) of crude tuber peel extract (CTPE) of T. leontopetaliodes while the sixth while the sixth tank, the control, was not inoculated but stocked with ten (10) mixed sex juveniles of C. gariepinus [12]. The setup was arranged in a randomized block design [13].…”