Toxicity Assessment of Dibutyl Phthalate in Grass
Carp: An Integrated Biomarker Approach
Mehwish Faheem1*, Zainab Zahid1 and Nuno GC Ferreira2
1Department
of Zoology, GC University Lahore Pakistan; 2School of
Biosciences- Cardiff University, Museum Avenue, CF10 3AX Cardiff –
UK
*Corresponding author:
mehwishfaheem@gcu.edu.pk
Abstract
Phthalates are the
common plasticisers used around the globe. Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) is a
ubiquitous, extensively used in cosmetics and frequently present in the aquatic
environment. Therefore, toxic effects of DBP were evaluated in terms of
oxidative stress and biochemical biomarkers. For this reason, a 21-dayexposure was conducted by exposing grass carp
with graded concentrations of
DBP (1, 10, 100 and 1000µg/L). After 21days, stress biomarkers: lipid
peroxidation (LPO), catalase (CAT) activity, glutathione-S-transferases
(GST) activity and level of reduced glutathione were evaluated in liver, kidney
and gills. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP), aspartate transaminase (AST), urea and
creatinine were evaluated in liver and kidney homogenates respectively.
Moreover, effect of DBP on all biomarkers were evaluated through integrated
biomarker response (IBR). Exposure of fish to DBP resulted in oxidative stress
in grass carp as evidenced by an increase in lipid peroxidation and decrease in
antioxidant enzymes. DBP exposure also resulted in increased liver’s ALT and AST
levels. Urea and creatinine were also significantly increased in kidney after
exposure to DBP. The IBR showed bad scores as the DBP concentration increased,
with the highest one (1000 µg/L) presenting a score >250x the value for the
control treatment. Additionally, the IBR/n showed that the most impacted organ
was the kidney, followed by the liver and the gills. The obtained results show
the need for deeper research into the effects of DBP on fish and their impact on
different organs.
To Cite This Article: Faheem M, Zahid Z and Ferreira NGC,
2021. Toxicity assessment of
Dibutyl phthalate in Grass carp: an integrated biomarker approach. Pak Vet J, 41(3): 365-371.
http://dx.doi.org/10.29261/pakvetj/2021.031