Histopathological evaluation of spleen, intestines and skin of tilapia (oreochromis spp.) captured from Langat River

Safani, Nur Naziha (2023) Histopathological evaluation of spleen, intestines and skin of tilapia (oreochromis spp.) captured from Langat River. [Project Paper] (Submitted)

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Abstract

Tilapia are freshwater fish that inhabit shallow streams, ponds, rivers, and lakes. They feed in shallow waters and are sensitive to physiological fluctuations, making them one of the best species to be used as a model for pollution studies. Fish inhabiting polluted rivers often accumulate heavy metals in their tissues which can lead to pathological changes. Langat River was chosen in this study due to its poor status according to the Water Quality Index falling into Class III. This study aimed to identify the histopathological changes in the spleen, intestines and skin of tilapia caught from Langat River and to compare whether there is a significant difference in histopathological changes between the adult and juvenile tilapia. A total of eight tilapias, consisting of adults and juveniles (n=4) were caught using a cast net and euthanized prior to post-mortem. Spleen, intestines and skin samples were fixed and processed accordingly before staining with H&E. Muscle and water samples were oven-dried and sent for energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis for qualitative heavy metal identification. The histopathological changes were scored based on the selection of 20 fields of interest for each slide. Mann-Whitney U test was used to analyse the data at p<0.05. The spleen showed histopathological changes characterised by melanomacrophage centres (MMCs) and congestion. In comparison with juveniles, adults showed more severe histopathological changes in their spleens. In the intestines, fusion of villi was observed along with haemorrhage and mucosal degeneration. Histopathological changes in the intestines were revealed to be more significant among the adults. The skin demonstrated infiltration of inflammatory cells and oedema. Both groups showed no significant difference in histopathological changes in the skin. EDX analysis revealed the presence of Na, Mg, P, Cl, K, Nb, Pt, Cu and S in the muscles of both groups. The presence of Hf was detected in the muscle sample of the adult fish, and Ca and Rb in the juvenile fish. Water samples indicated the presence of Mg, K, Ca, Cu, Al, Si, Fe, Ti and W. In conclusion, fish exposed to pollutants were shown to develop histopathological changes. In the adult group, changes in the spleen and intestines were proven to be more significant (p<0.05). In contrast, changes in the skin did not reveal any significant difference between both groups.

Item Type:	Project Paper
Faculty:	Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
Depositing User:	Ms Nurhaznita Mahmood
Date Deposited:	30 Sep 2024 06:51
Last Modified:	30 Sep 2024 06:51
URI:	http://psaspb.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/2069

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