Study on the Toxic Effects of Deltamethrin on Hematological Parameters of a Fresh Water Fish, Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio L.)

Fish health is adversely affected by pesticide contamination, which is a significant cause of pollution in freshwater ecosystems. One helpful technique for assessing the general health of different fish species is the analysis of blood parameters. Present study investigated the detrimental effects of deltamethrin on different hematological parameters of a fresh water fish, common carp (Cyprinus carpio). An experiment with a 28-day exposure to 1/20th and 1/10th of the 96-hour LC50 value (0.114µl/L) was conducted in order to investigate the effects of sub-lethal concentrations. On the 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th day of exposure, several hematological parameters like Total Erythrocyte Count (TEC), Total Leukocyte Count (TLC), Hemoglobin (Hb), Hematocrit/Packed Cell Volume (Hct/PCV), Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV), Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin (MCH) and Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin Concentration (MCHC) were analyzed in comparison to control. After the exposure of different concentrations of deltamethrin significant decline (P*<0.05 and P**<0.01) in Hb, TEC, PCV and MCHC was noted as compared to control. On the contrary TLC, MCV and MCH showed increasing trend after the treatment of pesticide. This study showed that deltamethrin considerably altered the hematological markers of fish, even at sub-lethal concentrations.