Histopathological effects of sublethal concentrations of potassium permanganate on the African catfish: <i>Clarias gariepinus</i> (Burchell, 1822)

Abstract

The histopathological effects of KMnO₄ on the gills, kidney and liver of Clarias gariepinus were  also determined by light microscopy. The fish were exposed to sublethal concentrations (0.0, 0.2, 6.0 and 10.0mg/L) of KMnO₄  for 96 and 192 hours in a static renewal bioassay technique. Histological examination of the gills, kidney and liver of fish exposed to the various sublethal concentrations of KMnO₄  over the exposure periods of 96 and 192 hours, showed a variety of histopathological defects. The histopathological lesions were: detachment and rupture of lamellar epithelium, collapse of pillar cells and hypertrophy in mucus producing gland cells in the gill; vacuolization and coagulative necrosis in hepatic cells of the liver; and expansion, necrosis and accumulation of cellular debris in renal tubules of the kidney. These alterations were proportional to the exposure periods and concentrations of KMnO₄, and thus were found to be dose- and time-dependent.

Key words: Histopathology, Potassium permanganate, vital organs, Clarias gariepinus