Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Biochemical and histopathological effects in muscular tissue of carp fish (Labeo rohita, Hamilton 1822) following exposure to untreated and treated sewage water

  • Research in Environmental Planning and Management
  • Published:
Environmental Science and Pollution Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Present work describes a laboratory study aiming at assessing the impact of sewage treatment plant (STP) effluents on fish health by means of biochemical and histopathological biomarkers in muscular tissue of fish. Labeo rohita (7.62 ±0.25 cm, 8.25±0.32 g) was exposed to sub-lethal concentrations of untreated (UT) and treated (T) sewage water obtained from STP, Ludhiana, India. Following the determination of the 96h lethal concentration (LC50), the fish were exposed to control (de-chlorinated tap water), treated sewage water, 1/10th of LC50 UT and 1/20th of LC50 UT sewage water. The experiment was conducted for the period of 60 days. Experimental results depicted significant reduction (p<0.05) in muscle-somatic index of 1/10th LC50 UT and 1/20th LC50 UT groups compared to control and treated groups. Fish toxicity induced by untreated sewage water was evident from the significant decrease (p<0.05) in the levels of proteins and significant increase (p<0.05) in content of total lipids in muscular tissue of exposed group fingerlings. Drastic changes in the fatty acids profile and severe histological abnormalities viz. shortening of muscle bundles, edema, hyper-vacuolization, elongation of muscle bundles, gap formation in myofibrils, degenerated myotomes, hemorrhage, inter-myofibrillar space, necrosis, were also recorded in muscular tissue of exposed fingerlings. The intensity of muscular damage in L.rohita was found to increase with increase in duration of exposure. Results demonstrated that untreated sewage water could potentially induce physiological stress and somatic cell toxicity in fish L.rohita. Genotoxicity studies on germ cells of L.rohita fingerlings are further suggested to examine the genotoxic potential of untreated sewage water at high concentrations; this is especially of interest given that many effluents are genotoxic to fish.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

Not applicable

References

  • AACC (1976) Approved Methods of the American Association of Cereal Chemists. St paul Minnesota, USA

    Google Scholar 

  • Adeogun AO, Chukwuka AV (2012) Altered reproduction in Clarias gariepinus exposed to industrial effluents. Ame J Agri Biol Sci 7(1):61–70

    Google Scholar 

  • Aditya AK, Chattopadhyaya S (2000) Accumulation of methyl parathion in the muscle and gonad of Labeo rohita. J Environ Biol 21:55–57

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Akani N, Daka E (2015) Evaluation of weight changes, condition factor and organosomatic indices of Clarias gariepinus exposed to sub-lethal concentrations of an oilfield wastewater. Curr Studies Comp Sci Edu Technol 2(2):338–354

    Google Scholar 

  • APHA (2005) Standards methods for the examination of the water and wastewater, 21st edn. Washington, DC: USA

  • Applequist LA, Boynto JE, Stumpf PK, Wettstei DV (1968) Lipid biosynthesis in relation to chloroplast development in barley. J Lipid Res 9:425–436

    Google Scholar 

  • Ashraf W (2005) Accumulation of heavy metals in kidney and heart tissues of Epinephelus microdon fish from the Arabian Gulf. Environ Monit Assess 101:311–316

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Auclair J, Gagné F (2020) The influence of polystyrene nanoparticles on enzyme clusters of fumarate, malate dehydrogenase and citrate synthase: a fractal analysis study. Lett Appl Nano Biosc 9:981–987

  • Azmat R, Bibi F (2013) Impacts of Textile Waste Water on Fingerlings of Fresh Water Reservoir. Asian J Chem 25(16):9341–9344

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bakhtiyar Y, Langer S, Karlopia SK, Chalotra RK (2017) Studies on the feeding habits of Labeo rohita (Ham.) from Gho-Manhasa fish ponds, Jammu, North India. J Ecophysiol Occup Health:40–49. https://doi.org/10.15512/joeoh/2017/v17i1&2/16360

  • Bell JG, Tocher DR, Sargent JR (1994) Effects of supplementation with 20:3 n-6, 20:4 n-6 and 20:5 n-3 on the production of the prostaglandins E and F of the 1-,2- and 3-series in turbot, Scophthalmus maximus brain ashoglial cells in primary culture. Biochem Biophys Acta 1211:335–342

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Benit N, Roslin AS (2015) Physicochemical properties of wastewater collected from different sewage sources. Int J Innovative Sci Engineer Technol 2(11):691–696

    Google Scholar 

  • Bhanot R, Hundal SS (2019) Acute toxic effects of untreated sewage water in Labeo rohita (Hamilton 1822). J Entomol Zool Studies 7(3):1351–1355

    Google Scholar 

  • Bhutiani R, Khanna DR, Shubham AF (2016) Physico-chemical analysis of Haridwar, Uttarakhand. Environ Conserv J 17(3):133–142

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • BIS (2012) Indian Standard drinking water-specification, 2nd Revision. New Delhi, India

    Google Scholar 

  • Bou M, Berge GM, Baeverfjord G, Sigholt T, Ostbye T, Ruyter B (2017) Low levels of very-long-chain n-3 PUFA in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) diet reduce fish robustness under challenging conditions in sea cages. J Nut Sci 6:1–14

    Google Scholar 

  • Brraich O, Kaur M (2014) Lead induced histopathological alterations in the gills of Labeo rohita (Hamilton-Buchanan). Hydrol Curr Res 5(4):130

    Google Scholar 

  • Dautremepuits C, Paris-Palacios S, Betoulle S, Vernet G (2004) Modulation in hepatic and head kidney parameters of Carp (Cyprinus carpio) induced by copper and chitosan. Comp Biochem Physiol Part C: Toxicol Pharmacol 137(4):325–333

    Google Scholar 

  • Dhevakrishnan R, Zaman G (2012) Cauvery river pollutants induced histopathological changes in kidney and muscle tissues of freshwater fish, Labio rohita (Hamilton, 1822). Int Multidiscipl J 2(5):9–19

    Google Scholar 

  • El-Serafy SS, Ibrahim SA (2005) Mahmoud S A. Biochemical and histopathological studies on the muscles of the Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) in Egypt. Egypt J Aqua Biol Fish 9(1):81–96

    Google Scholar 

  • Fatma AS, Mohamed (2008) Bioaccumulation of selected metals and histopathological alterations in tissues of Oreochromis niloticus and Lates niloticus from Lake Nasser, Egypt. Global Veterinaria 2:205–218

    Google Scholar 

  • Francis R, Nagarajan K (2013) Histopathological changes in the muscle tissue of the fish Clarias Batrachus exposed to untreated and treated sago effluent. Adv Biosci Bioengineer 1(2):74–80

    Google Scholar 

  • Frimodt C (1995) Multilingual illustrated guide to the world's commercial warmwater fish. Fishing News Books, Osney Mead, Oxford, England, p 215

    Google Scholar 

  • Gagné F, Auclair J, André C (2019) Polystyrene nanoparticles induce anisotropic changes in subcellular fraction of the digestive system of freshwater mussels. Current Topic Toxicol 19:43–48

    Google Scholar 

  • Giang PT, Sakalli S, Fedorova G, Tilami SK, Bakal T, Najmanova L (2018) Biomarker response, health indicators, and intestinal microbiome composition in wild brown trout (Salmo trutta m. fario L.) exposed to a sewage treatment plant effluent dominated stream. Sci Total Environ 625:1494–1509

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Griffitt RJ, Luo J, Gao J, Bonzongo JC, Barber DS (2008) Effects of particle composition and species on toxicity of metallic nanomaterials in aquatic organisms. Environ Toxicol Chem 27:1972–1978

  • Haredi AMM, Mourad M, Tanekhy M, Wassif E, Abdel-Tawab HS (2020) Lake Edku pollutants induced biochemical and histopathological alterations in muscle tissues of NileTilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). Toxicol Environ Health Sci 12:247–255

  • Harrison TD, Cooper JAG, Ramm AELA (2000) report-State of South African estuaries-geomorphology, ichthyo fauna, water quality and aesthetics. Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, State of the Environment Series

  • Hernandez LM, Xu EG, Larsson HCE, Tahara R, Maisuria VB, Tufenkji N (2019) Plastic Teabags Release Billions of Microparticles and Nanoparticles into Tea. Environ Sci Technol 53:12300–12310

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hoar WS (1984) The Transformation of Energy. In: General and Comparative Physiology, Prentice Hall, New Delhi Vol 79.

  • Humason GL (1975) Animal tissue techniques, 4th edn. W. H. Freeman and Company, San Francisco, CA, USA

  • Hussain B, Sultana T, Sultana S, Al-Ghanim KA, Mahboob S (2017) Effect of pollution on DNA damage and essential fatty acid profile in Cirrhinus mrigala from River Chenab. Chin J Oceanol Limnol 35(3):572–579

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ibrahim LA, Ramzy EM (2013) Water quality and its impact on Tilapia zilli (case study) Qarun lake-Egypt. Int Water Technol J 3:170–191

  • Kaur R, Dua (2015) 96 h LC50, behavioural alterations and histopathological effects due to wastewater toxicity in a freshwater fish Channa punctatus. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22:5100–5110

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kaur R, Dua A (2016) Fish liver and gill cells as cytogenotoxic indicators in assessment of water quality. Environ Sci Pollut Res:1–9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-7080-7088

  • Kaur T, Saxena PK (2002) Impact of pollution on the flesh of some fishes inhabiting river Satluj waters-a biochemical study. Ind J Environ Health 44(1):58–64

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kavitha C, Malarvizhi A, Kumaran SS, Ramesh M (2010) Toxicological effects of arsenate exposure on hematological, biochemical and liver transaminases activity in an Indian major carp, Catla catla. Food Chem Toxicol 48:2848–2854

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Khan HA, Jhingran VG (1975) Synopsis of biological data on rohu Labeo rohita (Hamilton, 1822). FAO Fish Synop 111:100

    Google Scholar 

  • Klaine SJ, Koelmans AA, Horne N, Carley S, Handy RD, Kapustka L, Nowack B, von der Kammer F (2011) Paradigms to assess the environmental impact of manufactured nanomaterials. Environ Toxicol Chem 31(1):3–14

    Google Scholar 

  • Koopaei NN, Abdollahi M (2017) Health risks associated with the pharmaceuticals in wastewater. DARU J Pharma Sci 25:9

    Google Scholar 

  • Koven W, Barr Y, Lutzky S, Ben-Atia I, Weiss R, Harel M, Behrens P, Tandler A (2001) The effect of dietary arachidonic acid (20:4 n-6) on growth, survival and resistance to handling stress in gilthead seabream, Sparus aurata lawae. Aquaculture 193:107–122

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lambert S, Wagner M (2016) Characterisation of nanoplastics during the degradation of polystyrene. Chemosphere 145:265–268

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lohner TW, Reash RJ, Williams M (2001) Assessment of tolerant sunfish populations (Lepomis sps.) inhabiting selenium-laden coal ash effluents. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 50:217–224

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lokhande R, Singare PU, Pimple DS (2011) Study on physico-chemical parameters of waste water effluents from Taloja industrial area of Mumbai, India. Int J Ecosyst 1(1):1–9

    Google Scholar 

  • Lowry OH, Rosebrough NJ, Farr AL, Randall RJ (1951) Protein measurement with the Folin phenol reagent. J Biol Chem 193:265–275

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lu J, Wang X, Shan B, Li X, Wang W (2006) Analysis of chemical compositions contributable to chemical oxygen demand (COD) of oilfield produced water. Chemosphere 62(2):322–331

  • Malik N, Biswas AK, Qureshi TA, Borana K, Virha R (2010) Bioaccumulation of heavy metals in fish tissues of a freshwater lake of Bhopal. Environ Monit Assess 160(1-4):267–276

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Marqueño A, Blanco M, Maceda-Veiga A, Porte C (2019) Skeletal Muscle Lipidomics as a new tool to determine altered lipid homeostasis in fish exposed to urban and industrial wastewaters. Environ Sci Technol 53(14):8416–8425

    Google Scholar 

  • Mastan AS (2014) Heavy metals concentration in various tissues of two freshwater fishes, Labeo rohita and Channa striatus. Afr J Environ Sci Technol 8(2):166–170

    Google Scholar 

  • Mookerji N, Rao TR (1995) Prey Capture Success, Feeding Frequency and Daily Food Intake Rates in Rohu, Labeo rohita (Ham.) and Singhi, Heteropneustes Fossilis (Bloch) larvae. J Appl Ichthyol 11:37–49

    Google Scholar 

  • Nikalje SB, Muley DV, Angadi SM (2012) Histopathological changes in gills of a freshwater major carp Labeo rohita after acute and chronic exposure to textile mill effluent (tme). Int J Environ Sci 3:108–118

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Noorjahan CM, Jamuna S (2015) Biodegradation of sewage waste water using Azolla microphylla and its reuse for aquaculture of fish Tilapia mossambica. J Environ Sci Toxicol Food Technol 9(3):75–80

    Google Scholar 

  • OECD (1992) Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) guidelines for testing of chemicals. Paris, 17th July

  • Olarinmoye O, Taiwo V, Clarke E, Kumolu-Johnson C, Aderinola O, Adekunbi F (2009) Hepatic pathologies in the brackish water catfish (Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus) from contaminated locations of the lagos lagoon complex. Appl Ecol Environ Res 7(3):277–286

    Google Scholar 

  • Poleksic V, Olojo S, Karan V (2010) Effects of trifluralin on carp: biochemical and histological evaluation. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 43:213–221

    Google Scholar 

  • Popa P, Timofti M, Voiculescu M, Dragan S, Trif C, Georgescu LP (2012) Study of physico-chemical characteristics of wastewater in an urban agglomeration in Romania. Sci World J. https://doi.org/10.1100/2012/549028

  • Rahman AKA (2005) Freshwater fishes of Bangladesh, 2nd edition. Zoological Society of Bangladesh, Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, pp 263

  • Rauf A, Javed M, Ubaidullah M (2009) Heavy metal levels in three major carps (catla catla, Labeo rohita and Cirrhina mrigala) from the River Ravi, Pakistan. Pak Vet J 29(1):24–26

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Remyla S, Ramesh M, Sajwan KS, Senthil KK (2008) Influence of zinc on cadmium induced haematological and biochemical responses in a freshwater teleost fish Catla catla. Fish Physiol Biochem 34:169–174

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Robertson JL, Preisler HK, Russell RM (2007) Polo plus, probit and logit analysis: user’s guide, version 2.0. LeOra Software, FL, Petaluma, CA

  • Saad SMM, El-Deeb AE, Tayel SI, Al-Shehri E, Ahmed NAM (2012) Effect of heavy metals pollution on histopathological alterations in muscles of Clarias gariepinus inhabiting the Rosetta branch, River Nile, Egypt pp 79-88. Ist International Conference of Biotechnology Applied Agriculture Benha University, Egypt

  • Sachar A, Raina S (2014) Effect of heavy metal, zinc and carbamate pesticide, Sevin on haematological parameters of fish, Labeo boga. Int J Inn Res Sci Engineer Technol 3(5):12636–12644

    Google Scholar 

  • Sakalli S, Giang PT, Burkina V, Zamaratskaia G, Rasmussen MK, Bakal T, Tilami SK, Sampels S, Kolarova J, Grabic R, Turek J, Randak T, Zlabek V (2018) The effects of sewage treatment plant effluents on hepatic and intestinal biomarkers in common carp (Cyprinus carpio). Sci Total Environ 635:1160–1169

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schellenberg T, Subramanian V, Ganeshan G, Tompkins D, Pradeep R (2020) Wastewater discharge standards in the evolving context of urban sustainability–The Case of India. Front Environ Sci 8:30. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2020.00030

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shahid S, Sultanaa T, Sultana S, Hussain B, Irfan M, Al-Ghanim KA, A-Misned F, Mahbooba S (2021) Histopathological alterations in gills, liver, kidney and muscles of Ictalurus punctatus collected from pollutes areas of River. Braz J Biol 81(3):814–821

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shakir HA, Qazi JI, Chaudhry AS (2014) Examining muscles of Cirrhinus mrigala for biochemical parameters as a bio-indicator of water pollution by municipal and industrial effluents into River Ravi, Pakistan. Int Aqua Res 6:221–228

    Google Scholar 

  • Sinha P, Annamalai SK, Arunachalam KD (2018) A wee study on behavioural, organ somatic index and histological alterations of the fresh water fish Pangasius sutchi in response to protection studies, exposed to gamma radiation perceived by genotoxic assays. Int J Pharma Sci Rev Res 50(2):18–30

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sitohy MZ, El-Masry RA, Siliem TA, Mohamed NA (2006) Impact of some trace metals pollution in the River Nile water on muscles of Clarias gariepinus inhabiting El-Kanater El-Khyria and Helwan sites. Zaga J Agri Res 33(6):1207–1222

    Google Scholar 

  • Sreejai R, Jaya DS (2010) Studies on the changes in lipid peroxidation and antioxidants in fishes exposed to hydrogen sulphide. Toxicol Int 17(2):71–77

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sumi N, Chitra KC (2017) Histopathological alterations in gill, liver and muscle tissues of the freshwater fish, Pseudetroplus maculates exposed to fullerene C60. Int J Fish Aqua Studies 5(3):604–608

    Google Scholar 

  • Tasbozan O, Gokce MA (2017) Fatty acids in fish. Cukurova University, Department of Aquaculture, Adana, Turkey, pp 144-158. https://doi.org/10.5772/68048

  • Tashla T, Žuža M, Kenjveš T, Prodanović R, Soleša D, Bursić V, Petrović A, Pelić DL, Bošković J, Puvača N (2018) Fish as an important bio-indicator of environmental pollution with persistent organic pollutants and heavy metals. J Agron Technol Engineer Manag 1(1):52–56

    Google Scholar 

  • Tocher DR (2010) Fatty acid requirements in ontogeny of marine and freshwater fish. Aquac Res 41:717–732

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tripathi VM, Tewari DD, Tiwari HD, Tiwari S, Uppadhya MP (2008) Physico - chemical characteristics of river Rapti nearby industrial area Balrampur, U.P. India. Nat Environ Pollut Technol 7(1):73–77

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ullah S, Javed MW, Shafique M, Khan S (2014) An integrated approach for quality assessment of drinking water using gis: a case study of Lower Dir. J Himalayan Earth Sci 47(2):163–174

    Google Scholar 

  • UNEP, UNEP Year Book (2011) Emerging Issues in our Global Environment, 2011.

  • Wang WX (2002) Interaction of trace metals and different marine food chains. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 243:295–309

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang XL, Lu YL, Han JY, He GZ, Wang TY (2007) Identification of anthropogenic influences on water quality of rivers in Taihu watershed. J Environ Sci 19(4):475–481

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • WHO (2011) Guidelines for drinking water quality. 4th edn. pp 1-564

  • Workagegn KB (2013) Toxicity evaluation of waste treatment plant of textile effluent using fish: Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus. Int J Robot Res 3(10):43–48

    Google Scholar 

  • WWAP (2017) United Nations (World Water Assessment Programme), The United Nations World Water Development Report 2017. The Untapped Resource. Paris, UNESCO, Wastewater

    Google Scholar 

  • Zeumer R, Galhano V, Monteiro MS, Kuehr S, Knopf B, Meisterjahna B, Soares MVMA, Loureiro S, Lopes I, Schlechtriema C (2020) Chronic effects of wastewater-borne silver and titanium dioxide nanoparticles on the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Sci Total Environ 723(137974):1–15

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhao J, Wang Z, Liu X, Xie X, Zhang K, Xing B (2011) Distribution of CuO nanoparticles in juvenile carp (Cyprinus carpio) and their potential toxicity. J Hazard Mater 197:304–310

    CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors of the present study are grateful to the Head, Department of Zoology, PAU, Ludhiana, for providing all the basic facilities to carry out this research work. The authors are also thankful to the Department of Mathematics, Statistics and Physics, PAU, Ludhiana, for giving their suggestions for statistical analysis of data.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, 141004, India

    Reetu Bhanot & Swarndeep Singh Hundal

Authors
  1. Reetu Bhanot
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Swarndeep Singh Hundal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Swarndeep Singh Hundal designed this study. Reetu Bhanot conducted experiments and performed all the laboratory work. Reetu Bhanot and Swarndeep Singh Hundal analyzed results. Reetu Bhanot wrote manuscript under the supervision of Swarndeep Singh Hundal.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Reetu Bhanot.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval

The experimental protocol met the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) guidelines (1992). The methods and procedures which were used for handling the animals during the research work were in accordance with the guidelines of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA), India.

Consent to participate

Not applicable

Consent for publication

Not applicable

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Responsible Editor: Bruno Nunes

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary information

ESM 1

(DOCX 5117 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Bhanot, R., Hundal, S.S. Biochemical and histopathological effects in muscular tissue of carp fish (Labeo rohita, Hamilton 1822) following exposure to untreated and treated sewage water. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 63991–64013 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13906-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13906-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation