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Chronic levels of ibuprofen induces haematoxic and histopathology damage in the gills, liver, and kidney of the African sharptooth catfish (Clarias gariepinus)

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Abstract

Numerous active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) have been detected in various environmental matrices. Thus, their potential to elicit their toxic effect on non-target organisms is a growing concern, especially in the aquatic environment. This study aimed to investigate the potential toxicity of ibuprofen (IBU) at environmentally relevant concentration on the haematology and histology of the gill, liver, and kidney over 30 days. The 96-h acute toxicity data showed that IBU was moderately toxic to C. gariepinus with an LC50 value of 3.78 mg/L. After 15 and 30 days of exposure, there was a significant alteration in haematological indices in the treated fishes when compared to the control group. Throughout the experimental duration, the level of the mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH) were consistently lower significantly, in contrast to the control group. IBU induced histopathological deformities in the gills, liver, and kidney of the exposed fishes, with alterations such as showing severe secondary lamella necrosis (SLN), epithelial lifting (EL), mild deformity of the secondary lamella (DSL), mild secondary lamella necrosis (MLN), and mild vascular congestion in the liver and kidney, respectively. This study has demonstrated that IBU at environmentally relevant concentrations can significantly impact the haematology, gills, liver, and kidney of C. gariepinus. This study’s results can provide baseline info for regulatory agencies to set safe limits for NSAIDs as a safeguard for the aquatic environment.

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Acknowledgements

We wish to thank the Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Statistical Analysis (LISA), of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, for their immense statistical tutoring and guidance that facilitated the validity of this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, School of Sciences, Federal University of Technology, Akure, P.M.B 704, Akure, Ondo, Nigeria

    Germaine Akinola Ogunwole & Faith Oluwaseyi Odunjo

  2. Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos, Nigeria

    Joseph Kayode Saliu & Fidelia Ijeoma Osuala

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  1. Germaine Akinola Ogunwole
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  4. Faith Oluwaseyi Odunjo
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Contributions

Germaine Akinola Ogunwole and Joseph Kayode Saliu designed and conceptualized the experiment, Joseph Kayode Saliu and Fidelia Ijeoma Osuala supervised the experimental procedures, and Germaine Akinola Ogunwole and Faith Oluwaseyi Odunjo undertook the experiment. The statistical analysis and manuscript writing was done by Germaine Akinola Ogunwole, and the manuscript was proofread by Joseph Kayode Saliu. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Germaine Akinola Ogunwole.

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All experimental procedures were approved by the institutional ethics clearance committee with reference number CERAD/REC/10/19/011 and performed in compliance with the standards described by the institution of animal welfare act in line with the National Environmental Standard Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) Act of Nigeria on the protection of animals against cruelty.

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Ogunwole, G.A., Saliu, J.K., Osuala, F.I. et al. Chronic levels of ibuprofen induces haematoxic and histopathology damage in the gills, liver, and kidney of the African sharptooth catfish (Clarias gariepinus). Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 25603–25613 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-12286-7

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