Bisphenol-A (BPA) is an anthropogenic chemical mimicking 17β estradiol actions.  It is used as a monomer for plastic production. In the present study, adult female (age around 18 months) Catla catla, a widespread cyprinid fish in the Pakistani rivers, were exposed to increasing concentrations (10, 100, 1000 µg/l) of BPA for 2-weeks. Classical toxicological endpoints like liver enzymes and alterations in liver histology were investigated. In addition, the effect of BPA on hepatosomatic index (HSI) and vitellogenin (vtg) mRNA expression was also examined. A concentration-dependent increase was recorded in serum liver enzymes like aspartic aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) compared to control. The biomarkers for kidney function like serum creatinine level and uric acid also significantly increased in fish exposed to BPA. HSI did not change in groups exposed to low concentrations of BPA (10 and 100 µg/l); however, a significant increase as compared to control was observed in female fish exposed to 1000 µg/l BPA. Hepatic vtg mRNA increased with increase in exposure concentration but only the highest concentration (1000µg/l) was capable of inducing a significant vtg expression. Present study showed that bisphenol-A has far reaching detrimental effects on fish health by altering metabolic profile of liver and kidney and induced significant histopathological changes in the liver. Moreover, it also exerted environmental estrogenic effects by inducing vitellogenin, similar to natural estrogens. The results presented here are similar to earlier studies reporting estrogenic actions of BPA.

To Cite This Article: Faheem M, Khaliq S and Lone KP, 2019. Effect of Bisphenol-A on serum ­ biochemistry and Liver Function in the Freshwater Fish, Catla catla. Pak Vet J, 39(1): 71-75. http://dx.doi.org/10.29261/pakvetj/2019.003