Biodiesel Causes Oxidative Damage in Tissues of Clarias gariepinus

Aim: Alternative fuels have become more prominent today because of environmental concerns. Due to the increase in the use of alternative fuels, toxicology studies have become imperative to determine whether alternative fuels will affect the biochemistry of aquatic organisms.

Study Design: In this study, biodiesel in different concentrations (0.0, 0.1, 0.25%v/v) was introduced into water samples of same volume containing species of Clarias gariepinus (African cat fish).

Place and Duration of Study: This study was carried out in the Department of Environmental Science, Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun, Nigeria from April to October 2014.

Methodology: The 3 groups of fish placed in (0.0 0.1, 0.25)%v/v biodiesel-contaminated water were sacrificed after 30hours and enzymic and non-enzymic antioxidants (GSH, SOD, CAT, and MDA) as well as haematological properties were analyzed.

Results: Specific activity of SOD was found to be 8.55±0.89, 6.25±0.45 and 6.22±0.55 in the kidney of Control, 0.1%v/v and 0.25%v/v fish respectively. Similarly, specific activity of catalase was found to be 18.24±1.89, 15.30±0.76 and 13.39±1.27 in the gills of Control, 0.1%v/v and 0.25%v/v fish respectively. Conversely, the haematological property of Control is not significantly different from those of 0.1%v/v and 0.25%v/v fish. Results from this study showed significant decrease in the antioxidant status of cat fish from biodiesel contaminated water, however, haematological properties of the fish were not affected. This study revealed that biodiesel from palm kernel oil poses threat to aquatic life forms.