Acute Toxicity Assessment and Behavioral Responses Induced by Kandhamal haladi in Adult Zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Abstract

Turmeric has been used traditionally for its antimicrobial activity. Turmeric is used as a spice, food preservative, and coloring material in India. It has been used in Ayurveda for various diseases. So we decided to evaluate the toxicity effect of Kandhamal haladi, commonly use in the food industry, cosmetics, and pharmacology. The adult zebrafish (Danio rerio) model was used to evaluate the median lethal concentration (LC50). In the present study, acute toxic effects and behavioral alterations induced by exposure of the freshwater fish Danio rerio (zebrafish) to Kandhamal haladi was reported. Seven healthy specimens of the average size (3-4 cm in length and 1.0±0.78 g in weight) in each group were exposed to different concentrations of Kandhamal haladi for 24 h, 48 h, 72 h, and 96 h along with naïve and control group in a static system. After 96 h exposure at a water temperature of 28.5ºC, their abnormal swimming behavioral patterns and abnormal ventilatory (respiratory) function, including hyperactivity, hypoactivity, and gulping, were observed. Alterations in behavioral patterns were well noticeable during the period of the experiment. The 96 h LC50 value of Kandhamal haladi to Danio rerio was found to be 173.516 µM with lower and upper confidential limits (95%) as 152.146 µM and 200.072 µM respectively by using IBM SPSS statistics 25 software and 173.780 µM using Microsoft Office Excel 2007 based on Finney’s probit analysis statistical method. Mortality and behavioral changes were increased with increasing concentration of the compound within 24 to 96 hours. In addition to dose and dose-time dependent increase in the mortality rate, anxiety signs in the form of behavioral changes were observed in response to different test concentrations. Further researches are recommended to study the processes by which this chemical affects physiology and histology of fish and their accumulation in fish tissues. Our findings suggest that Kandhamal haladi can be used to fight against different fish diseases because of its low toxic effect on fishes, and supplementation of haladi could be recommended in aquaculture through a feed to prevent disease impact.