Induction of Various Diseases in Clarias batrachus (Linnaeus, 1758) Following Exposure to Cypermethrin and Fenvalerate, with Reference to Histopathological and Physiological Alterations

Abstract

Catfishes Clarias batrachus (Linnaeus, 1758), exposed under the Acute toxicity at the lethal concentration dose of LC50 1?4 of 1 ?g/ litre for 24 hours; which is 0.25 ?g/litre for Cypermethrin. On the other hand, lethal concentration of Fenvalerate for 24 hours was LC 50 (250?g/litre) selected by its 1/10 portion which is LC50 (25 ?g/ litre) for the test dose. Generation of different types of diseases observed during the period of research study. These concentrations were maintained throughout the study, with observations made at 24-hour intervals to assess acute toxicity at lethal concentrations.

Introduction

Toxicology studies the adverse effects of chemicals on living organisms, focusing on how toxicity symptoms manifest. The field derives from Ancient Greek, with Mathieu Orfila recognized as the modern father of toxicology, while Paracelsus is famous for the principle that “the dose makes the poison.” Toxic effects depend mainly on exposure route (oral, inhalation, dermal) and dose (duration and concentration), assessed through acute (short-term) and chronic testing.

The study examined the effects of two synthetic pyrethroid insecticides—Cypermethrin and Fenvalerate—on the airbreathing catfish species Clarias batrachus. Fish were exposed to sub-lethal doses in controlled tanks over several days during winter. Physiological and histopathological observations were conducted, including blood smear analyses.

Key findings include:

• Infectious Hematopoietic Necrosis Virus (IHN): Fish showed severe anemia, mortality, and characteristic blood abnormalities, aiding diagnosis via blood and kidney smears.

• Cell Injury: Reversible cellular changes such as swelling and fatty changes occurred, potentially progressing to necrosis if damage worsened.

• Circulatory Disturbances: Hemorrhages and eye bulging were observed, caused by vascular injury due to infection or toxic exposure.

• Pigmentation Changes: Melanin accumulation increased at injury sites, with visible dark pigmentation and swelling, especially on the head and barbels.

• Melanoma and Carcinoma: Toxic water exposure was linked to melanoma development and hepatocellular carcinoma in catfish tissues.

• Infectious Diseases: Exposure led to diseases like Coldwater Disease (skin and muscle erosion), proliferative kidney disease caused by parasites, and ceratomyxosis, causing body stiffness and swelling.

The study highlights how pesticide toxicity induces complex physiological and pathological changes in fish, affecting health and causing multiple disease states.

Conclusion

1) When smear slide prepared after the sampling of blood at different stages of normal, toxic and herbal phases, it has been seen that fishes infected by many types of diseases during the whole experiment are as follow:Infectious Hematopoietic Necrosis (IHN)Virus (Smith and Mac Connell et al.,2007) 2) Cell Injury and Necrosis (Heidel and Smith, 2007) 3) Hemorrhage (Heidel and Smith, 2007) 4) Pigmentation as: 5) Monocytic leukemia 6) Melanoma 7) Infectious Diseases (Mac Connell et al.,2007) like as: 8) Coldwater Disease (CWD) caused by Flavobacterium psychrophilia. 9) Parasitic Diseases due to Myxopsporean as Proliferative Kidney Disease (PKD) infected by the parasite Tetracapsula bryosalmonae. 10) Ceratomyxosis due to presence of Ceratomyxa shasta 11) Development of water mould disease caused by Aphanomyces invadans, known as Epizootic ulcerative syndrome, Mycotic granulomatosis (MG) or Red Spot Disease (RSD) in which fishes suffered by Ulcerative lesions on the body texture. During immunological study of Skin Prick Test (SPT) and Leucocytotoxic Test (LCT) following conclusion are come out: • In Skin Prick Test (SPT), it is observed that the whole body harshly affected by poison of Fenvalerate and Cypermethrin due to which body got stiffy and twisted after its application on the skin surface of fish. • The head and tail portion of fish badly affected after interaction of blood with Fenvalerate and Cypermethrin.

References

[1] Kumar, P., Dhakad, N.K., April 2017. Biochemical Comparison between Cypermethrin and Fenvalerate Harmful Effect on Catfish Clarias batrachus (Linnaeus, 1758). International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR),6(4),803-805.https://www.ijsr.net/getabstract.php?peperid=ART20172506, DOI: http://www.doi.org/10.21275/ART20172506. [2] Kumar, P., Dhakad, N.K., December, 2017. Comparision of Biochemical effects of Psidium guajava upon Fenvalerate and Cypermethrin infected Clarias batrachus (Linnaeus, 1758). International Journal of Recent Scientific Research Vol. 8, Issue, 12, pp. 22591-22593. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.24327/ijrsr.2017.0812.1296. [3] Kumar, P., December 2024. Observation of blood infected by Cypermethrin and Fenvalerate through Immunological Test in Clarias batrachus (Linnaeus, 1758). International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology (IJIRT), Volume 11 Issue 7, pp.2343-2347. ISSN: 2349-6002 IJIRT 170877. [4] Mumford, S., Heidel, J., Smith, C., Morrison, J., McConnell, B., Blazer., V., July 2007. Fish Histology and Histopathology. USFWS-NCTC. [5] Paracelsus: Herald of Modern Toxicology\". Archived from the original on 24 March 2013. Retrieved 23 September 2014. [6] Summer, 1996. Journal of Pesticide Reform. 16(2), 15-20. [7] Wang, Kai-Yun; Zhang, Yong; Wang, Hong-Yan; Xia, Xiao-Ming; Liu, Tong-Xian (2010-01-01). \"Influence of three diets on susceptibility of selected insecticides and activities of detoxification esterases of Helicoverpa assulta (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)\". Pesticide Biochemistry and Physiology. 96 (1): 51–55. DOI: 10.1016/j.pestbp.2009.09.003

Copyright

Copyright © 2025 Dr. Priya Kumar. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.