Assessment of oxidative stress, genotoxicity, and histopathological alterations in freshwater food fish Channa punctatus exposed to fungicide, Mancozeb

Abstract

In agricultural fields, excessive application of pesticides often leads to the contamination of aquatic ecosystems. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of Mancozeb (MZB) exposure in gills, liver, kidney, and muscles of Channa punctatus (Bloch, 1793). Acute exposure of the test fish to MZB for 96-h resulted in oxidative stress due to elevated levels of reactive oxygen species. In the exposed group markers of oxidative stress such as lipid peroxidation and glutathione showed significant increment and decrement in their activity, respectively. Furthermore, histopathological anomalies were observed in the vital organs of the fish of the treated group. DNA damage was also observed in the erythrocytes, in the form of micronuclei (MN) in the fish, under toxicant exposure. The study clearly reveals that fish, C. punctatus is highly affected when exposed to MZB-contaminated aquatic medium.