Effect of estrogen and testosterone on the protein and nucleic acid contents of liver, muscle, and gonad and plasma protein content of male and female (vitellogenic and nonvitellogenic) Singi fish, Heteropneustes fossilis bloch

Abstract

Daily injections of estradiol dipropionate (0.5, 1, 2, and 4 μg/g, for 7 consecutive days) increased the hepatosomatic index, protein and RNA contents of liver, and protein content of plasma of male and female (vitellogenic and nonvitellogenic) Singi fish ( Heteropneustes fossilis). The gonadosomatic index and protein and RNA contents of gonad (ovary or testes) and muscle remained unchanged in these male and female fish under such treatments. Testosterone propionate injections (0.5, 1, 2, and 4 μg/g, for 7 consecutive days) failed to cause any of these changes in male or female fish, except in the case of nonvitellogenic females where the muscle protein content increased after injections of 2 and 4 μg of testosterone per gram. The DNA content of liver, muscle, and ovary or testes was not affected by any of these hormones.