Impact of Arsenic and Fluoride Poisoning on Hematological Parameters and Oxidative Stress Biomarkers in the Freshwater Spiny Eel Mastacembelus puncalus

DOI: 10.22161/ijeab.114.39

Abstract:
Arsenic and fluoride are widespread geogenic contaminants of freshwater systems in South and Southeast Asia, where they frequently co-occur in groundwater-fed aquaculture and capture-fishery habitats. Although their individual toxicity to fish is documented, combined arsenic–fluoride effects on hematological and oxidative stress endpoints remain uncharacterized for the barred spiny eel, Mastacembelus puncalus (Hamilton, 1822; accepted name Macrognathus pancalus), an economically important food fish. The 96-h median lethal concentrations (LC50), determined by probit analysis, were 28.0 mg/L for sodium arsenite and 150.0 mg/L for sodium fluoride (NaF). Fish (n = 10 per group) were subsequently exposed for 30 days to six treatments: control; arsenic at 2.8 and 5.6 mg/L; fluoride at 15 and 30 mg/L; and combined arsenic (2.8 mg/L) + fluoride (15 mg/L). Hematological indices (red and white blood cell counts, hemoglobin, packed cell volume, erythrocytic indices, and platelets) and oxidative stress biomarkers (lipid peroxidation [LPO], superoxide dismutase [SOD], and catalase [CAT] in gill and liver) were compared by one-way analysis of variance with Tukey’s honestly significant difference test. Exposure induced dose-dependent anemia, most severe in the combined treatment, in which red blood cell count, hemoglobin, packed cell volume, and platelets declined by 38.0%, 41.7%, 41.1%, and 37.9%, respectively, whereas white blood cell counts increased by 82.1%. Gill LPO rose by 240.6% and liver LPO by 202.2% relative to controls, while SOD and CAT activities were suppressed by approximately 58–60% in both tissues, with higher absolute baseline activities in liver; all responses intensified progressively over 30 days. These findings constitute the first combined arsenic–fluoride toxicity assessment in this species and support hematological indices and oxidative stress biomarkers as early-warning tools for biomonitoring and food safety in contaminated aquatic systems.

Keywords:
arsenic, fluoride, Mastacembelus puncalus, hematological parameters, lipid peroxidation, superoxide dismutase, catalase

Article Info:
Received: 24 Jul 2026; Received in revised form: 17 Aug 2026; Accepted: 22 Aug 2026; Available online: 31 Aug 2026

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