Assessment of biochemical biomarkers of mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis (Baird et Girard, 1853)) on exposure to the insecticide cypermethrin

ABSTRACT

Cypermethrin (CYP) is a synthetic pyrethroid insecticide, used in agriculture, and one of the most common contaminants in freshwater aquatic systems. This paper reports an evaluation of the toxicity of CYP in the mosquitofish, exposed to two concentrations (0.2 ng/L and 6.25 ng/L). The result revealed a significant modulation in the activity of antioxidants enzymes, superoxide dismutase, catalase and decreased acetylcholinesterase after 7 days. Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and malondialdehyde levels remained elevated throughout the exposure duration. CYP causes gills and liver oxidative stress, modifying the antioxidant enzymes. Principal component analysis highlighted relationship between biomarkers in functional response. These findings suggest that exposure to CYP can lead to various antioxidant processes in the fish gills and liver.

KEYWORDS:

• Cypermethrin
• mosquitofish
• oxidative stress
• biomarkers

Disclosure statement

Authors do not have any potential conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded through grants from both the Faculty of Sciences of Bizerte (University of Carthage, Tunisia) and Taif University (Researchers Supporting Project number TURSP-2020/28, Taif University, Saudi Arabia).