Ovarian Impairment in Fish, Channa punctata (Bloch) on Exposure to Mercuric Chloride, Caldan 50 SP and their Mixture

Abstract

Extensive and arbitrary use of pesticides in agriculture and heavy metals in industries as catalysts have caused impending hazards to aquatic organisms. Fishes occupying higher positions in trophic level of the aquatic food chain suffers the most due to the industrial discharge and agrochemicals. Reproductive system is one of the most important systems which gets affected to a great extent and in turn affect the reproductive processes and fecundity of animals. Present investigation deals with both synergistic and individual effects of mercuric chloride (MC), an industrial effluent and Caldan 50SP (C50SP), on the histological profile of ovary of a fresh water food fish Channa punctata (Bloch) after 15, 30 and 60 days of exposure periods. Notable histopathological findings include deshaped ovum, ruptured ovarian epithelium, stromal hemorrhage and vacuolization in the ovaries. The extent of ovarian damage was exposure dependent under the impact of individual toxicants, however their synergistic effects pronounced more severe damage even when individual toxicants were in lesser concentration and exposure time was also comparatively less. The results obtained will be helpful to understand the combined effect of MC and C50SP on the ovary of fishes and these findings are quite suggestive of reproductive impairments leading to delayed ovarian maturity and adversely affecting process of ovulation and thus, fish production.