Impact of environmental changes on plasma biochemistry and hematological parameters of Himalayan snow trout, Schizothorax plagiostomus

Abstract

The hematological and plasma biochemical parameter study is recognized as a valuable tool for evaluating health status, physiological and pathological conditions of fish. In the present study, blood sampling was carried out with the aim to evaluate plasma biochemistry and hematological parameters of Himalayan snow trout, Schizothorax plagiostomus, that are altered due to variation in environmental conditions. The fluctuations in hematological parameters such as hemoglobin (Hb), red blood cell (RBC) count, packed cell volume (PCV), white blood cell (WBC) count, mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and plasma biochemical parameters, such as total protein, glucose, total cholesterol and urea were compared with respect to gender and season. The hemoglobin and packed cell volume were obtained by cyanmethemoglobin and microhaematocrit method while total red blood cell count and total white blood cell count were obtained by Neubauer hemocytometer, respectively. Significant differences (P 0.05) difference among the season has been noted. Between the sexes, the Hb concentration, total RBC count and PCV value were higher in males throughout the summer season, while the number of WBC count was recorded higher in female fish during the summer season. However, there was no significant (P > 0.05) difference noted in MCH, MCHC and MCV values neither between the sexes nor between the seasons throughout the annual cycle. The biochemistry parameter of S. plagiostomus also produced significant (P > 0.05) differences with respect to both sex and season. Higher serum protein, glucose, total cholesterol and urea content were noted in both male and female fish during summer season and lowest content of these parameters was recorded in both sexes during winter and spring seasons. The data generated in the present study revealed that monitoring fish hematology and plasma biochemical parameters will serve as an imperative biomarker for monitoring the health status of the fish population, which may be a useful indicator of the environment alterations.