full paper.pdf - An International Quarterly Journal of Environmental ...

NSave Nature to Survive
QUARTERLY
4(2&3): 189-192, 2010
STUDIES OF EFFECT OF CADMIUM TOXICITY ON PROTEIN
METABOLISM IN BRAIN AND MUSCLE TISSUES OF A
FRESHWATER TELEOST CHANNA PUNCTATUS
SRIANGA TILAK PATNAIK*, MONALISA P. MOHAPATRA 1 , G. K. PANIGRAHY 2 , B. C. GURU 3 AND S. C. PATNAIK 4
Department of Zoology, College of Basic Science and Humanities,
Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar - 751 003
1
Department of Zoology, S. C. S. (A) College, Puri - 752 001
2
Post Graduate Department of Zoology, Berhampur University, Berhampur - 760 007
3
Post Graduate Department of Zoology, Utkal University, Bhubaneswar - 751 004
4
Department of Biotechnology, C. E. T., B. P. U. T., Bhubaneswar - 751 003
E-mail: sriangatilakpatnaik@yahoo.com
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
Man is using a number of chemicals and there are a number of chemicals in the
environment now. Some of the chemicals are toxic to living system. Some of
these toxic chemicals which get incorporated into food chain, disturb the
biochemical processes occurring in the living body causing deformalities,
diseases and even death are called environmental toxicants. Mercury (Hg),
Lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd) are the most notorious trio that pollute the environment
creating serious health hazards in organisms live there in (Valle and Ulmer,
1972; Omarova and Philips, 2007).
Cadmium is known to be highly toxic even in small concentrations (Miettinen,
1974; Hattink et al., 2005) and it is a common aquatic pollutant (Babic and
Stozky, 1978; Hattink et al., 2005). Cadmium occurs in the earth’s crust along
with Zn and Pb-Cu-Zn ores. It is usually found as cadmium sulphide. Cadmium
is used for various industrial activities.
Cadmium has a tremendous effect on physiology so brings about characteristics
alternations in different functions of the vital organs such as kidney, liver, brain,
heart, lung and tissues like muscle, skin, bone etc (Gantayat, 1978; Scott and
Sloman, 2004). Adverse effect of cadmium on carbohydrates, proteins, nucleic
acid and ascorbic acid metabolism has been found (Smith, 1986; Basha and
Rani, 2003). Even low doses of cadmium produced change in the brain
antioxidant defense mechanism in rats (El-Missiry and Shalaby, 2000). Effect of
various parameters like biochemical (Dutta and Das, 1977; Basha and Rani,
2003), growth pattern (Qasim and Bhatt, 1966), temperature adaptation
(Anathakrishna and Kutty, 1986; Scott and Sloman, 2004) on Channa punctatus
has been studied. The present study investigates the effect of cadmium in the
form of cadmium chloride on the glucose metabolism of brain and muscle of a
fresh water teleost, Channa punctatus.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Channa punctatus is a freshwater murrel. It is easily available and maintained.
Live and healthy fishes of both the sexes of body weight ranging from 12-70 g
were purchased from the local fish market of Berhampur, Orissa, India.They
were maintained in earthen pots of 15 liter water capacity for 2-3 days for
acclimitation. Boiled chopped egg whites were given as food. The earthen pots
labeled as control (C) had fishes with normal water and pots labeled as
Cadmium is a highly toxic heavy metal, causes
environmental pollution. In aquatic medium it
has adverse effect in fishes. In Channa punctatus
freshwater teleost cadmium toxicity alters the
protein metabolism. Fishes were maintained in
water with cadmium chloride for 72 hr and then
estimation of protein is conducted in their brain
and muscle tissues. Result reveals that the relative
soluble protein contents (mg/g tissue wet wt.) of
both muscle and brain decreased, but significantly
in muscle (

SRIANGA TILAK PATNAIK et al.,
experimental (E) had fishes with water mixed with 500 μg
cadmium chloride per liter of water. Since in a series of
experiment, fishes couldn’t survive to higher doses of cadmium
chloride, the concentration was lowered to 500μg/L. The water
was changed for every 24 hr after 72 hr.
At the fourth day the fishes were sacrificed after recording
their body weight and length. The entire brain and some
amount of muscle were dissected out and taken in a watch
glass containing cold distilled water. Adherent materials were
cleaned.
Estimation of protein in tissue
Weighed amount of muscle and brain of both controlled and
experimental fishes were separately homogenized in mortar
and pestles in 5mL of distilled water. The homogenates were
taken separately. From the total amount of homogenates 1mL
each from muscle and brain was pipette out for the estimation
of total protein. The rest amount of tissue homogenates were
centrifuged for 10 minutes at 1500 rpm. To the residue 1mL
distilled water was added and was taken for the estimation of
water insoluble protein. The supernatant was collected in a
centrifuge tube and to it equal volume of 10% TCA was added
in order to precipitate the soluble protein (as described by
Oser, 1971) and centrifuged. Then the supernatant was
discarded and to the residue 1mL of distilled water was added
and the same was taken for the estimation of water soluble
protein following the biuret method (as described by Oser,
1971).colorimeter at 540 nm green filter.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Changes in protein fractions of muscle and brain
Soluble protein
The relative soluble protein contents (mg/g tissue wet wt.) of
both muscle and brain decreased, but significantly in muscle
(

EFFECT OF CADMIUM TOXICITY
Table 5: Effect of CdCl 2
exposure (500 μg/L) for 72 hr on soluble/
insoluble protein ratio in the muscle and brain of Channa punctatus
Tissue Condition Soluble/insoluble p %Change
protein ratio
mean ± S.E.M.
Muscle Control 2.126±0.135

SRIANGA TILAK PATNAIK et al.,
indicators in humans. Environmental Research. 103(3): 432-440.
Oser, B. L. 1971. In Hawk’s physiological chemistry, Mc-Graw Hill,
New York, p. 810.
Palanichamy, S., Arunachalam, S. and Bhaskaran, P. 1989. Effects of
pesticides on protein metabolism in the fresh water catfish Mystus
vittatus. J. Ecobiol. 1(2): 90-97.
Qasim, S. Z. and Bhatt, V. S. 1966. The growth of the freshwater
murrel, Ophiocephalus punctatus. Hydrobiologia. 27: 289.
Rao, R. K. 1979. Some aspects of skeletal muscle metabolism in the
garden lizard, Calotes vericolor (Daudin): Age related changes in
biochemical parameters in relation to stress factors. Ph.D. thesis,
Berhampur University, Berhampur, Orissa, India.
Reeves, P. G. and Chaney, R. L. 2008. Bioavailability as an issue in
risk assessment and management of food cadmium. Science of the
Total Environment. 398(1-3): 13-19.
Scott, G. R. and Sloman, K. A. 2004. The effects of environmental
pollutants on complex fish behaviour: integrating behavioural and
physiological indicators of toxicity. Aquatic Toxicology. 68(4): 369-
392.
Shukla, V., Rathi, P. and Sastry, K. V. 2002. Effect of cadmium
individually and in combination with other metals on the nutritive
values of fresh water fish Channa punctatus. J. Environ. Biol. 23(1):
105-110.
Smith, M. A. K. 1986. Measurement of scale of protein synthesis as an
index of specific growth rate in Labeo rohita. J. Physiol. 2001(59):
514-522.
Talukdar, A. N. 2000. Effect of heavy metal toxicity on protein
metabolism of fish, Channa punctatus, M.Phil thesis, Berhampur
University, Berhampur, Orissa, India.
Valle, B. L. and Ulmer, D. D., 1972. Annu. Rev. Biochem. 41: 91.
Waldichuk, M., 1979. Review of environmental toxicological
problems. J. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B. 286: 399-424.
Webb, M. 1972. Biochemical effects of Cd² + injury in rat and mouse.
J. Reprod. Fertil. 30: 83-98.
192