Heavy metals, parasitologic and oxidative stress biomarker investigations in Heterotis niloticus from Lekki Lagoon, Lagos, Nigeria

Heavy metal toxicity in aquatic life as a result of human activities poses a grave health threat to water quality, aquatic and human life. Parasites may serve as indicators of heavy metal pollution. This research investigated the health status of the fish Heterotis niloticus viz-a-viz quality of the water and sediments in Lekki lagoon, parasitic infection, presence of heavy metals and oxidative stress response in the liver and intestine of the fish. Parasites recovered were also analyzed for the extent of bioaccumulation of heavy metals. The metals in water, sediments, parasites, and fish were analyzed using Atomic Absorption Spectrometry. Heavy metal concentrations in the surface water were generally below regulatory limits of World Health Organization. Sediment had high levels of aluminium (124.78 mg/kg) and iron (327.41 mg/kg); other heavy metals were below regulatory limits. Tenuisentis niloticus, an acanthocephalan, was the only parasite recovered. Seventy (70) out of 100 fish sampled were infected with the parasite. T. niloticus bioaccumulated Cd, Ni, and Pb between 65 to 100 times more than the liver and 12 to 200 times more than the intestine. Other metals bioaccumulated from the host tissues by the parasite had the magnitude between 1 to 12 times as the liver and 1 to 30 times as the intestine. There were significant differences in the activities of antioxidant enzymes between the parasitized and non-parasitized fishes. Fish tissues also showed histological alterations, ranging from mild infiltration of inflammatory cells to moderate inflammation and haemorrhagic lesions. Human activities that introduce stressors into the lagoon should be controlled.