An experiment on the glucose metabolite, serum electrolytes, and somatic characteristics of the Levantine Barbel Luciobarbus pectoralis (Heckel, 1843) under the effect of heavy metals.

Levantine Barbel (Luciobarbus pectoralis) is a benthopelagic, subtropical native fish living in the inland waters of the Mediterranean region in Türkiye and Syria. Even though it is widely consumed locally, experimental observations on how heavy metals [zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), cadmium (Cd), and lead (Pb)] and their mixtures affect the fish are lacking. Several bioindicators of the fish exposed to heavy metals are the focus of the current investigation. Initially, Fulton condition factor (K) and hepato-somatic index (HSI) were utilized in the somatic characteristics of L. pectoralis. Then, changes in the level of glucose metabolite and electrolytes [sodium (Na+), potassium (K+), and chloride (Cl-)] of blood were determined by Architect C-800 auto-analyzer after exposure durations. The results of the experiments demonstrated that heavy metals can rapidly have a negative impact on the regulation of blood and somatic characteristics of fish. It was observed that the K index decreased in all metal groups at 24 and 96 h, while considerably increased in the 24-h effect of cadmium only (P ≤ 0.05). Along with that, in the 96-h effect of metals, Cu indicated the highest decrease in the HSI value (19.33%, P ≤ 0.05). In general, all heavy metal exposures caused the fish's glucose metabolite level to rise compared to the control (P ≤ 0.05). Furthermore, sublethal effects of metals at both durations caused considerable changes in blood electrolytes of the fish compared to control (P ≤ 0.05). Additionally, putative biomarkers in both durations had the greatest difference in toxic similarity under the Cu impact compared to the control, according to Hierarchical clustering and Euclidean distance metrics. Although the applied concentrations of Zn, Cu, Cd, and Pb and their mixture studied were generally within the limits of the various organizations and the surface water regulations, changes in ecophysiological and somatic indices were nonetheless seen in fish.

Cadmium accumulation in gill, liver, kidney and muscle tissues of common carp, Cyprinus carpio, and Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus.

Accumulation of cadmium in gill, liver, muscle and kidney tissues of Cyprinus carpio and Oreochromis niloticus were investigated in fish exposed to 0.5 ppm cadmium over 1, 15 and 30 days under controlled laboratory conditions. Tissue accumulation of the metal was measured using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometric techniques. Cadmium accumulation in gill, liver, kidney and muscle, tissues of C. carpio and O. niloticus exposed to metal for 1, 15 and 30 days increased significantly compared with the control group (p < 0.05), except muscle tissue of O. niloticus. A general increase was observed in Cd accumulation with increasing exposure periods. Highest metal accumulation was observed in kidney followed by liver, gill and muscle tissues in both species. Liver accumulation of Cd was higher in C. carpio than O. niloticus, whereas kidney accumulation of the metal was higher in O. niloticus than C. carpio.