Alleviating Effect of a Magnetite (Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub>) Nanogel against Waterborne-Lead-Induced Physiological Disturbances, Histopathological Changes, and Lead Bioaccumulation in African Catfish
Afaf N. Abdel Rahman,
Basma Ahmed Elkhadrawy,
Abdallah Tageldein Mansour,
Heba M. Abdel-Ghany,
Engy Mohamed Mohamed Yassin,
Asmaa Elsayyad,
Khairiah Mubarak Alwutayd,
Sameh H. Ismail,
Heba H. Mahboub
Affiliations
Afaf N. Abdel Rahman
Department of Aquatic Animal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44519, Egypt
Basma Ahmed Elkhadrawy
Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sadat City, Sadat City 32897, Egypt
Abdallah Tageldein Mansour
Animal and Fish Production Department, College of Agricultural and Food Sciences, King Faisal University, P.O. Box 420, Hofuf 31982, Saudi Arabia
Heba M. Abdel-Ghany
Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44519, Egypt
Engy Mohamed Mohamed Yassin
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44519, Egypt
Asmaa Elsayyad
Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Mansoura University, Mansoura 35516, Egypt
Khairiah Mubarak Alwutayd
Department of Biology, College of Science, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia
Sameh H. Ismail
Faculty of Nanotechnology for Postgraduate Studies, Cairo University, Sheikh Zayed Branch Campus, Giza 12588, Egypt
Heba H. Mahboub
Department of Aquatic Animal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44519, Egypt
Heavy metal toxicity is an important issue owing to its harmful influence on fish. Hence, this study is a pioneer attempt to verify the in vitro and in vivo efficacy of a magnetite (Fe3O4) nanogel (MNG) in mitigating waterborne lead (Pb) toxicity in African catfish. Fish (n = 160) were assigned into four groups for 45 days. The first (control) and second (MNG) groups were exposed to 0 and 1.2 mg L−1 of MNG in water. The third (Pb) and fourth (MNG + Pb) groups were exposed to 0 and 1.2 mg L−1 of MNG in water and 69.30 mg L−1 of Pb. In vitro, the MNG caused a dramatic drop in the Pb level within 120 h. The Pb-exposed group showed the lowest survival (57.5%) among the groups, with substantial elevations in hepato-renal function and lipid peroxide (MDA). Moreover, Pb exposure caused a remarkable decline in the protein-immune parameters and hepatic antioxidants, along with higher Pb residual deposition in muscles and obvious histopathological changes in the liver and kidney. Interestingly, adding aqueous MNG to Pb-exposed fish relieved these alterations and increased survivability. Thus, MNG is a novel antitoxic agent against Pb toxicity to maintain the health of C. gariepinus.
