Arshad, Juzu Hayati

Ramli, Johari

Shamaan, Nor Aripin

Syed, Mohd Arif

Universiti Putra Malaysia Institutional Repository

Agricultural SciencesFresh Water Fish as Biomarkers for Pesticide Pollution*Syed, M.A., Shamaan, N., Arshad, J and Ramli, JFacultyof ScienceandEnvironmentalStudiesUniversitiPutraMalaysia43400 UPM,Serdang,SelangorMalaysiaEimail of Corresponding Author: ariff@fsas.upm.edu.myKey words: toxic effects, fish, aquatic organisms, pesticides, bioiodicators.IntroductionAlthough pesticide usage is desirablefor the control of pests, it has resultedin unprecedented chemical pollutionaffecting non-target organisms: InMalaysia, endosulfan and carbofuranare examples of widely used insecti-cides in agricultural spraying opera-tions. Uncontrolled applications of thepesticides have contaminated theaquatic environment. Fish and otheraquatic organisms can accumulatethese chemicals and could result inspontaneous or delayed mortality.These chemicals can also end up in thefinal user, i.e. man. Hence, it is im-perative that information be obtained toassess the toxicological and biochemi-cal effects of these pesticides onaquatic organisms. Among the mainobjectives of the project are: to deter-mine the toxic effects on fish and otheraquatic organisms; to determine thetoxicity levels of the pesticides; and touse the information obtained as bio-chemical markers to assess potentialexposure to trace levels of pesticides inthe aquatic environment.Materials and MethodsEstimation of LC50 of carbofuran andendosulfan for the freshwater grasscarp, Ctenopharynogdon idellus andthe African catfish, Clarius gariepinus;the two species of fresh water fish wereseparately exposed to various concen-trations of carbofuran and endosulfanto determine the toxicity of the pesti-cides to the fish.Lethal and sublethal effects of carbofu-ran and endosulfan on key enzymeactivities in the skeletal muscles ofgrass carp and the liver of African cat-fish.Separate experiments in which fish wasexposed to lethal (I.Oppm carbofuran)and sublethal concentrations of carbo-furan and endosulfan (0.33ppm and10.2 ppb respectively) for 24, 48 and72 hours were carried out. Key enzymeactivities (acetylcholinesterase, AchE,Glutamate pyruvate transaminase, GPTand Glutamate Oxaloacetate transami-nase, GOT) were determined at thespecified time intervals. The toxiceffects on long exposure of endosulfanwere also carried out in which fishwere exposed for three weeks insteadof a maximum of 72 hours.Sublethal effects of endosulfan on theprotein pattern of the African catfish.Liver obtained from fish exposed tosublethal concentrations endosulfanwere analysed e1ectrophoretically.Results and DiscussionThe LC50 of carbofuran for the fresh-water grass carp was estimated to be0.54 ppm. The lethal concentration for100% mortality was lOppm while thesafe concentrations in which there wasno mortality was 0.4ppm. The figuresfor endosulfan for the African catfishwere 21.47ppb, 30 ppb and 16ppb re-spectively.Short-term exposure of the two speciesof fish sublethal concentrations of car-bofuran and endosulfan had e differenteffects on the various enzyme activi-ties. AchE activity was inhibited by 54,65 and 75% at 24, 48 and 72 hoursrespectively when exposed to sublethalconcentrations of carbofuran. BothGPT and GOT activities increased at24, 48 and 72 hours; 80, 25 and 70%for GPT and 87, 17 and 67% for GOTrespectively. Short-term exposure tolethal concentrations of carbofuranresulted in similar pattern. AchE activ-ity was inhibited while GPT and GOTactivities were enhanced. A similarpattern was observed when the Africancatfish was exposed to sublethal con-centrations of another pesticide, endo-sulfan, for a short exposure period (upto 72 hours) and a longer exposureperiod of three weeks in which AchEactivity was inhibited while GPT andGOT activities were enhanced.The protein pattern in the liver of theAfrican catfish exposed to sublethalconcentrations of endosulfan changedwhen compared to the control fish, Inthe treated samples, some proteinbands disappeared while new bandsappeared. The changes were time anddose dependent.ConclusionsThe present results indicated that al-though carbofuran and endosulfan areless toxic than the other pesticides, theyhave delayed effects and can causealterations in the activity of key en-zymes in fish tissue even at low con-centrations where there was no mortal-ity. The results also suggest that se-lected enzyme activity in fish can beused as biological markers for the as-sessment of pesticide pollution andtheir potential hazards.Benefits from the studyThe information is important for thediagnosis of the status of theenvironment.Consumers should be made aware ofthe potential hazards of these pesticidesthrough the consumption of fish wherepesticides are indiscriminately used.There is a possibility of using freshwater fish as biological indicators ofhazardous chemicals.Literature cited in the textNone.Project Publications inRefereed JournalsBarlas,N,E. 1999.Determinationoforganochlorinepesticideresiduesinaquaticsystemsandorganismsin upperAkaaryabasin,Turkiye. Bulletin ofEnvironmental Contamination andToxicology. 62(3): 278-285.Cheah,U.B. andLum,K.Y. 1998.Pesticideresiduesandmicrobialcontaminationofwater resourcesin the Mudariceagroecosystem.InNashriyah,BM,165UPM Research Report 1997-2000. Section 2-Extended AbstractsIf" NK. "mail ns, Ali All and Lum KY(eds.) Ria Allro~(·t'-'.\·."~mof the Mlllialrrigation S("h~m,.. M"lm·Jia. MINT-MAIM. H,mlli. M"I"_\'.,i,,. :!()()-:!W(,.Project Publications inConference ProceedingsNone,Graduate ResearchIsam El-Din Abu Zeid. 2(X)1 PesticideBiochemistry IPh. D.). Universiti PutraMalaysia.166Research funded by the Intensification of Researchin Priority areas (IRPM - Supported by IRPA RM-7Ilmil (1996-2(X)(». Cycle 1996, GranlO 1-02-04-0078.

Fresh water fish as biomarkers for pesticide pollution

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Fresh water fish as biomarkers for pesticide pollution

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