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Effects of Dietary Pb on Accumulation, Histopathology, and Digestive Enzyme Activities in the Digestive System of Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)

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Abstract

With the increasing occurrence of dietary lead (Pb) contamination in aquatic environment, threat of the dietary Pb toxicity to aquatic organisms attracted more attention. In this study, after being exposed to dietary Pb at concentrations of 0, 100, 400, and 800-μg/g dry weight for 60 days, the groups of tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) were sacrificed and sampled to analyze the effects of dietary Pb on accumulation, histopathology, and digestive enzyme activities in tissues of the digestive system. The results showed that the Pb accumulation in tissues increased with the dietary Pb concentrations. Moreover, Pb accumulated in sampled tissues in the following order: intestine > stomach > liver. By observation of liver histological sections in optical microscope, lesions could be detected in the Pb-contaminated groups. It was also demonstrated that the inhibitory effect of dietary Pb on digestive enzyme activities was dietary Pb concentration dependent. Different degrees of inhibition of enzyme activities were exhibited in sampled tissues. It was indicated that digestive enzyme activities in the digestive system might be considered as the potential biomarkers of dietary Pb contamination in tilapia.

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Acknowledgements

The financial aid provided by the Science and Technology Planning Project of Zhejiang Province (Grant No 2008C32034) and the Educational Commission of Zhejiang Province (Grant No. N20080197) is gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory for Molecular Animal Nutrition of Ministry of Education, Feed Science Institute, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310029, People’s Republic of China

    Wei Dai, Huahua Du, Chengguan Jin & Zirong Xu

  2. Department of Fisheries Science, Tianjin Agricultural University, Tianjin, 300384, People’s Republic of China

    Wei Dai

  3. Department of Food Quality and Safety, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou, 310018, People’s Republic of China

    Linglin Fu

  4. Institute of Special Economic Animal and Plant Science, Chinese Academy of Agriculture Sciences, Jilin, 132109, People’s Republic of China

    Huitao Liu

  5. Feed Science Institute, College of Animal Science, Zhejiang University (Huajiachi Campus), Qiutao North Road 164, Hangzhou, 310029, People’s Republic of China

    Zirong Xu

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  1. Wei Dai
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  2. Huahua Du
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  3. Linglin Fu
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  4. Chengguan Jin
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Correspondence to Zirong Xu.

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Dai, W., Du, H., Fu, L. et al. Effects of Dietary Pb on Accumulation, Histopathology, and Digestive Enzyme Activities in the Digestive System of Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). Biol Trace Elem Res 127, 124–131 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-008-8227-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-008-8227-3

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