European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

A STUDY ON SUPEROXIDE DISMUTASE ACTIVITY IN A FRESHWATER FISH LABEO ROHITA: A WAY OF ASSESSING AQUATIC HEALTH

Devbrat Mishra, Kunwar Dilip Pratap Singh and Ajai Kumar Singh*

ABSTRACT

Present study is an attempt to examine the health of water bodies of the locality in terms of superoxide dismutases (SODs) activities using a freshwater fish Labeo rohita. SODs are a group of enzymes that are essential for neutralizing the side effects of oxygen derived free radicals, especially the superoxide anion radical (O2-) by converting them into H2O2 and molecular O2. The rivers (the Ganga, the Gomti and the Gangi) in the cities like Lucknow, Jaunpur, Ghazipur and Varanasi and the Gujar Tal in Jaunpur are the major aquatic bodies/reservoirs and are the lifelines for people inhabiting the cities and villages of these cities. The fish Labeo rohita commonly called as ‘Rohu’ is an important carp fish found in these water bodies/reservoirs. L. rohita is often exposed to daily or seasonal fluctuations in dissolved oxygen (DO) availability. SODs (total SOD, CU-Zn SOD and Mn-SOD) activities are higher in water containing more DO level (Experimental Site 6; Gujar Tal, Jaunpur) and are lower in water containing less DO level (Experimental Site 1; River Gangi, Ghazipur). This suggests that the levels of DO content and metabolic nature of tissues are directly proportional to the intracellular SODs activities. The expression of SODs in various tissues/organs of fish L rohita is however dependent on their morphophysiology and oxygen utilizing capacities.

Keywords: SOD; Seasonal fluctuation, Oxidative stress, Metabolic nature immunologically.