Histopathological Analysis of Hexavalent Chromium Toxicity to Ovary and Testis of Freshwater Food Fish, Channa punctatus (Bloch. 1793)

A major issue nowadays is aquatic contamination by heavy metals like Chromium as a result of industrial, agricultural and domestic activities and cause threat to the aquatic ecosystem. This study's objective was to evaluate the toxicological effects of chromium (VI) in freshwater food fish, Channa punctatus. For the experiment, a medium-sized fish (10 ± 2 cm, 30 ± 5 g) was collected from local aquatic habitat and acclimatised in a lab under controlled conditions. There were one control and three exposed groups having different sublethal concentrations of chromium (LC50/5 = 15.378 mg/l, LC50/10 = 7.689 mg/l, and LC50/20 = 3.844 mg/l). Fish sacrificed to create slides after the desired duration. Compared to control, fish exposed to different subletal concentrations showed substantial alterations in their gonads. The highest adverse effects were seen in the ovary and testes in group 4 (LC50/5) compared to the lower in group 2 (LC50/20) in contrast to the control (group 1), Large intrafollicular gaps and nuclear membrane rupture in stage IInd oocytes were seen in the ovary, whereas intralobular edoema, disruption of the germinal epithelium, and severe vacuolization were recorded in the testes. According to the findings of the current research, chromium (VI) has a negative impact on fish reproductive tissue and disturbs ecological balances.