Changes in the liver of African catfish, Clarias gariepinus juveniles exposed to sub-lethal concentrations of glyphosate

Abstract

This study was undertaken to determine the histological changes in the liver of the African catfish, Clarias gariepinus exposed to sub-lethal concentrations glyphosate. One hundred (100) African Catfish (C. gariepinus) juveniles were exposed to increasing glyphosate concentrations of 0.00mg/l, 20.00mg/l, 34.00mg/l, and 56.00mg/l glyphosate with replicates for a period of 28 days in the General Purpose Laboratory of the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture of Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University Makurdi, Nigeria. Histological changes observed in the livers were cell vacuolization, degeneration of hepatocytes, haemorrhage and ultimately necrosis. The severity of these changes increased with concentration of glyphosate from 0.00 – 56.00 mg. There was no significant difference (P>0.05) between temperature and pH in the water quality parameters of the treatments, but there was a significant difference (P<0.05), in Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), and Electrical Conductivity (EC) where they all decreased with increasing concentration of glyphosate.