Influence of Atrazine on some antioxidant enzymes activities in sub-adult Clarias gariepinus

Abstract

Atrazine is a pre-emergence herbicide that is widely used in Nigeria to control weeds. Its influence on oxidative stress enzymes activities were investigated in some tissues (liver, kidney, gills and heart) of sub adult Clarias gariepinus. The LC50 24 hours, 48 hours, 72 hours and 96 hours of the fish was investigated after which the fish were sacrificed to remove the tissues. These were homogenized in 4 volumes of homogenizing buffer (50mM Tris-HCl mixed with 1.15% KCl and pH adjusted to 7.4), using a Teflon homogenizer. The homogenate was centrifuged at 10,000g for 20 minutes in a Beckman L5-50B centrifuge at 4 °C to obtain the post mitochondrial supernatant fraction for enzyme analysis. Enzymes concentrations were measured using colorimetric photometry. Analysis of variance showed that oxidative enzymes concentrations were higher in treated groups compared to control (ɑ = 0.05). These higher enzymes concentrations in the tissues were as a result of oxidative stress imposed on the tissues by