Abstract

Copper is an important group of estuarine pollutants. It is known to be able to disturb the integrity of biochemical and physiological mechanisms in aquatic organisms, including estuarine fish. Biochemical changes occurring in the metabolically active tissues of gills (GL), liver (LI) and muscles (MU) of the fingerlings of Asian sea bass, Lates calcarifer on exposure to two sub-lethal doses (6.83 ppm and 13.66 ppm) of copper were studied for 28 days of exposure (DoE). Sub-lethal doses of copper significantly (P<0.05) altered the levels of the total protein (TP), carbohydrate (TC), and lipid contents (TL) in test fishes. Percentage decrease in all biochemical components increased with the progressing DoE, irrespective of the exposure concentrations. The order of percent decrease in the concentrations of the TP, TC and TL in different tissues at the end of 28 DoE was found to be MU>GL>LI, MU>LI>GL and LI>MU>GL. Results of this study revealed that sub-lethal doses of copper significantly alter the proximate composition of major tissues, particularly the TP levels in the MU tissues and thereby reducing the nutritive value of this economically important sea bass.

Keywords

Copper, Toxicity, Sea bass, Biochemistry.

Received on 28/01/2016, Accepted on 28/02/2016, Published on 29/02/2016