Histopathological Effects of Hexavalent Chromium in the Ovary of a Fresh Water Fish, Channa punctatus (Bloch)

Abstract

The histopathological effects of hexavalent chromium (Cr VI) in the ovary of a fresh water teleost, Channa punctatus were investigated. An exposure-dependent alteration in ovarian histology is reported. For both acute and chronic exposures to Cr (VI), the percentages of atretic oocytes were increased; this increase was more pronounced in the acute exposure group. A decrease in percentage of vitellogenic oocytes was observed in the chronic exposure group indicating impairment of vitellogenesis. The hepatocellular vacuolization and atrophy along with pyknotic nuclei in both acute and chronic chromium exposed fish liver supports the vitellogenic impairment. The observed alterations may be due to both direct cytotoxic effect of Cr (VI) on the ovary as well as mediation by overall systemic toxicity affecting other vital organs.

Effect of sublethal hexavalent chromium exposure on the pituitary‐ovarian axis of a teleost, Channa punctatus (Bloch)

“…Fish of the metal contaminated sites were reported to have immature gonads and low serum cortisol levels (Hontela,1998; Levesque et al,2003). Recently, we have demonstrated impairment of the pituitary‐interrenal axis and lowering of serum cortisol levels on exposure to the similar concentrations of Cr (VI) as used in the present investigation (Mishra and Mohanty,2009a,b). Cr (VI)‐induced low cortisol level might be another reason behind retardation of ovarian development/reproductive dysfunction.…”

“…Group I was kept as untreated control and the other two groups (II and III) were exposed to sublethal concentrations of hexavalent chromium salt, potassium dichromate (K 2 Cr 2 O 7 ); 2 mg L −1 (≈5% of 96 h LC 50 ) and 4 mg L −1 (≈10% of 96 h LC 50 ), respectively. Exposure concentration was decided on the basis of 96 h LC 50 value of potassium dichromate for C. punctatus which was determined to be 41.75 mg L −1 (Mishra and Mohanty,2008a). Chromium (VI) concentrations in the water of control and treated groups were measured (Table I) by atomic absorption spectrophotometer (Perkin Elmer® Analyst 100, USA).…”

“…Chromium (VI) accumulations in the fish tissues also have been reported (Farag et al,2006a; Vinodhini and Narayanan,2008). Hexavalent chromium‐induced metabolic dysregulations (Vutukuru,2003; Saxena and Tripathi,2007; Oner et al,2008) and adverse effects on survival, growth, and immunity of fish have been documented (Khangarot et al,1999; Farag et al,2006a; Mishra and Mohanty,2008a). Studies on toxic effects of Cr (VI) on fish reproduction are scarce, limited to impact on fertilization (Billard and Roubaud,1985; Farag et al,2006b) and histopathology of ovary (Mishra and Mohanty,2008b).…”

Fish Behaviour and Immune Response as a Potential Indicator of Stress Caused by 4-Nonylphenol

“…Behavioral changes shown by any organism in response to any chemical, depend upon their mode of action [7]. Behavioral changes in response to certain chemicals like chlorpyriphos [8], chromium [9], polychlorinated biphenyls and tributyltin [10] have been investigated.…”

Acute spill‐mimicking exposure effect of hexavalent chromium on the pituitary‐ovarian axis of a teleost, Channa punctatus (Bloch)

“…Chromium(VI) have been reported to have adverse effects on metabolism (Jha and Jha, ; Al‐Akel and Shamsi, ; Vutukuru, ; Saxena and Tripathi, ), growth (Mishra and Mohanty, ), immunity (Khangarot et al, ; Arunkumar et al, ) as well as survival (Farag et al, ; Mishra and Mohanty, ) of fish. Toxic effects of Cr(VI) on fish reproduction have also been reported but the studies are limited (Farag et al, ; Mishra and Mohanty, ). Recently adverse effects of chronic exposures of Cr(VI) on the pituitary‐ovarian axis of a teleost Channa punctatus have been reported by the authors (Mishra and Mohanty, ).…”