Acute Toxicity of Delsate® Herbicide (Glyphosate) On Albumin and Blood Urea Nitrogen of African Catfish, <i>Clarias gariepinus</i> (Burchell, 1822)

Abstract

Some biochemical metabolism [albumin and blood urea nitrogen (BUN)] were monitored in the serum of fresh water adult African Catfish, Clarias gariepinus exposed to acute concentrations of Delsate herbicide for 96 hours. The concentrations of the toxicant tested were 0.5 mgL^-1, 1.0 mgL^-1, 1.5 mgL^-1, 2.0 mgL^-1 and 2.5 mgL^-1. The 96 hrs LC₅₀ obtained for C. gariepinus with mean weight (661±0.1 g) and standard length (23.5±0.4 cm) was 0.14 mgL^-1. The upper and lower confidence limits were 0.18% and 0.11% respectively. The biochemical examination indicated that the fish suffered from renal impairment, dehydration, respiratory malfunction, azotemia and hyperalbuminemia. The toxicant impinged BUN activity which is among others to eliminate toxic substances from the body. The results obtained in this study showed that delsate was toxic to C. gariepinus since they were not able to maintain osmotic pressure. The application of delsate near fish farm or in agricultural field close to aquatic environment is therefore be discouraged.

Key Words: Acute concentration, delsate, biochemical metabolism, hyperalbuminemia and
blood urea nitrogen