Toxicity analyses of raw and phytoremediated coal mine effluents using certain blood parameters of fish

Toxicity analyses of the coal mine effluent (CME) on various blood parameters of catfish Heteropneustes fossilis exposed prior to, and after following phytoremediation individually with two macrophytes Azolla pinnata and Lemna minor were performed. Raw CME exposure cause decrease in total erythrocyte count (TEC) (75.13%), hemoglobin (Hb) (82.40%), hematocrit (Hct) (54.75%), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) (29.43%), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) (61.17%), O2 carrying capacity (82.42%) and total protein concentration (72.39%) and increase in total leucocyte counts (TLC) (145.80%), glucose (73.89%), lipid (262.94%), cholesterol (110.50%) of fish blood. Further, fourfold increase in activities of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and 2 to 3 time rise in the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and lipid peroxidase (LPO) in the serum illustrate toxic manifestation of raw CME on fish tissues. Following exposure to Lemna minor and Azolla pinnata phytoremediated CMEs there were significant but incomplete improvements in most of the hematological and biochemical parameters of serum of fish. This could be probably due to higher amount of total accumulated metals (Metal Pollution Index) in the blood of raw CME exposed fish than in the fish exposed to either of the phytoremediated CMEs.