Plasma enzyme profiles of <i>Heterobranchus bidorsalis</i> from culture ponds in the Niger delta, Nigeria

Abstract

Blood samples were collected from cultured juvenile of Heterobranchus bidorsalis (mean weight, 0.52±0.045kg, mean total length 39.23±3.33cm, SD) and the plasma analysed for aspartate and alanine  aminotransaminase (AST and AL T) and alkaline phosphatase, ALP. AST activity was highest (42.64 IU/l, 21.55-55.52, Cl) but most variable among all the enzymes studied. The activity was 2.26x and 1. 95x that of ALT (ALT, 16.671Ul/1, 8.35-21.48, Cl) and ALP (21.90 Ul/l, 21.07-23.05, Cl). ANOV A showed that the condition of the fish significantly influenced only the activity of ALP (p < 0. 001). Pearson correlation between the various parameters indicated that only the relationship between AST and ALT (p < 0.01), length and ALP (p <0.5) were significant. The frequency polygons of the condition factor, AST, ALT and ALP were right-skewed. The frequency distribution for condition was mesokurtic, AST and ALT platykurtic and that for ALP was leptokurtic.

Key Words. Alanine transaminase, aspartate transminase, alkaline phosphatase, Heterobranchus bidorsalis