Impact of Carbon Tetrachloride on Oxidative Stress and Antioxidant Responses in the Hepatic Tissues of Zebrafish

Aquatic species are susceptible to oxidative stress under a variety of adverse environmental circumstances. A zebrafish model was used to investigate the sub-lethal impact of CCl4 on antioxidant defences and oxidative stress. Lipid peroxidation (LPO) levels were assessed for oxidative stress. The liver tissues had significantly more reactive oxygen species after 30 days of CCl4 exposure, which raises the liver's LPO levels up to two fold increase after 30 days of exposure. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT), two antioxidant defence enzymes, were elevated in the livers of the fish exposed to sublethal levels of CCl4 for 30 days. The increase was up to one fold when the fish exposed to 5mg L-1 for 30 days. The liver's glutathione transferase (GST) level rose when exposed to CCl4. In fish exposed to CCl4, the current study discovered a substantial correlation between antioxidant defences and oxidative stress. Overall, the findings indicate that fish exposed to CCl4 show signs of oxidative stress and that the corresponding antioxidant response in their livers is modulated by CCl4 after 30 days of chronic exposure which may result in susceptibility. This suggests that zebrafish could be used as a bioindicator of exposure to organic pollutants by measuring the activities of antioxidant enzymes for the freshwater ecosystems.