Author : Abdul Latif , Muhammad Khalid and Muhammad Ali

In Pakistan, naphthalene is currently detected as a strong pollutant in aquatic environment, posing potential threat to the health of fish and other aquatic organisms. The aim of our study was two-fold: 1) To calculate 96h LC50 values of naphthalene for L. rohita, the common freshwater cyprinid in Pakistan. 2) To find out the potential risks of naphthalene on hematology and liver function enzymes of L. rohita. Three groups of fish juveniles were used. One group (control) was exposed to 0 mg L-1 of naphthalene. Based on 96h LC50 values, the second group of fish juveniles was exposed to acute concentration (5.05 mg L-1) of naphthalene for 96h. Third group was exposed to 0.60 ml L-1 ethanol. All the groups were utilized for hematology and liver functional activities assays. The acute toxicity test for L. rohita revealed 96h LC50 value of 5.05 mg L-1 for naphthalene. A decrease in RBC count and Hb was observed in exposed group, suggesting toxicant had caused hemolysis. An induction in ALT and AST in exposed group indicating liver injury. An increase in LDH is an indication of induction of anaerobic pathway. The overall findings in the study recommend the naphthalene as a strong potent toxic agent for aquatic environment.

Keywords: Naphthalene, LC50 values, AST, ALT, LDH, Liver, Kidney.

Article published in International Journal of Current  Engineering  and Technology, Vol.4,No.1 (Feb- 2014)