Histopathological alterations in gills of common carp (Cyprinus carpio Linnaeus, 1758) as a biomarker of heavy metal pollution in Narmada River

Abstract

The present study was conducted to assess the contamination of heavy metals in six different sites of Narmada River in Madhya Pradesh. The study was conducted during Sep, 2022 to February, 2023. Water samples were collected from different sites: Site A (Amarkantak), Site B (Dindori), Site C (Mandala), Site D (Jabalpur), site E (Narsinghpur) and Site F (Hosangabad) for the analysis of water physicochemical parameters viz., temperature (°C), dissolved oxygen (DO) (mg/l), carbon dioxide (CO2) (mg/l), total ammonia (NH3) (mg/l), total dissolved solid (TDS) (mg/l), alkalinity and pH. Water samples of different Sites A to F were also assessed for presence of heavy metals concentrations by IP-CMS. The results indicated of heavy metals in the sites E and F are more polluted showed poor water quality of these sites due to the different anthropogenic activities and industrial discharge. Thirty fishes Caommon Carp (Cyprinus carpio) were collected from different sites of Narmada River for histopathological study. The gills tissues of fishes showed normal structure in Site A. In the fishes of Site B, the gill section showed necrosis of epithelial cells of secondary gill, hyperplasia and lamellar curling. In the fishes of Site C, the gill section showed lamellar edema, degeneration of gill lamellae and hyperplasia of chloride cells. In the fishes of Site D, the gill sections showed degenerative changes in gill, vacuolization and disruption of primary gill lamellae. However, the gill tissues showed degeneration of gill lamellae, lamellar fusion and secondary gill lamellae complete fusion in the fishes of Site E. Similarly, the gill tissues showed degeneration, hyperplasia and epithelial lifting in the fishes of Site F.