Heavy metal bioaccumulation and biomarkers of oxidative stress in the wild African tiger frog, Hoplobatrachus occipitalis

Abstract

Human activities can have dramatic effects on animal populations around urban areas with heavy metal contamination being a primary cause of harm. Amphibians, as residents of aquatic systems and with their semi-permeable skin are especially susceptible to heavy metal contamination. To better understand the effect of heavy metals on Wild African Tiger frogs (Hoplobatrachus occipitalis) and the resulting production of oxidative stress enzymes, the concentrations of the heavy metals, cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), lead (Pb) and nickel (Ni) were investigated in the tissues of H. occipitalis as well as in water and sediment samples collected from five different locations in Lagos State, Nigeria. The activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), reduced glutathione (GSH) and level of lipid peroxidation product, malondialdehyde (MDA) were analyzed in the liver of the sampled frogs. Most measured physicochemical characteristics of the water varied significantly across the sampling locations (P<0.05). The levels of metals (mg/kg dry weight) in muscle tissues also varied significantly across the locations (P<0.05) and ranged as follows: Cd: 0.21-5.03, Cu: 0.74-13.40, Fe: 3.19-109.10, Zn: 3.70-120.20, Pb: 0.12-18.24 and Ni: 3.20-7.28. Zn was the most accumulated metal, followed by Fe, Cu and Ni, while Pb was the least. The mean of SOD and reduced GSH in the frogs indicate some responses to oxidative stress which varied significantly among sampling areas (P<0.05). MDA values however did not consistently correlate with either oxidative stress or heavy metal concentrations in the frogs. The water-sediment-tissue analysis for heavy metals demonstrated that the sediment concentrated more heavy metals than water, while the frog tissues accumulated these metals articularly in more polluted areas.

Key words: Heavy metal pollution, bioaccumulation, Hoplobatrachus occipitalis, biomarkers, oxidative stress.