Tissue-specific variation in antioxidant Defence biomarkers in Mystus tengara exposed to pollution
1 Department of Zoology, Government College, Daolda, Mandsaur, M.P.
2 Department of Zoology, Government PG College, Ratlam, M.P.
Research Article
International Journal of Scholarly Research in Life Sciences, 2026, 04(01), 001-007.
Article DOI: 10.56781/ijsrls.2026.4.1.0021
Publication history:
Received on 02 May 2026; revised on 23 June 2026; accepted on 26 June 2026
Abstract:
This study examined how antioxidant defence markers and oxidative stress levels differ among tissues in Mystus tengara fish collected from various sites along the Chambal River in Nagda, Madhya Pradesh, an area heavily impacted by industrial pollution and human activity. We collected fish samples from one clean reference location (S1) and two polluted sites (S2 and S3). We measured for several key antioxidant markers like superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione S-transferase (GST), glutathione reductase (GRed), and lipid peroxidation (LPO The results showed that polluted areas had noticeably higher levels of antioxidant enzymes a clear sign that cells were ramping up their defenses in response to the buildup of reactive oxygen species. Among the tissues we examined, the liver stood out as the most effective at combating oxidative stress, particularly in its GPx and GRed activities. That really highlights just how crucial the liver is for cleaning out toxins and keeping things. The gill tissues showed the highest CAT activity and the highest levels of lipid peroxidation, suggesting they’re directly affected by water pollutants and that the cells are under severe oxidative stress. Although antioxidant enzymes were significantly increased, elevated LPO levels suggested that oxidative stress surpassed the protective ability of the exposed fish. The findings show that pollution in the Chambal River at Nagda disrupts redox homeostasis in M. tengara and underscore the usefulness of antioxidant biomarkers as reliable indicators of aquatic environmental health and contaminant-induced stress.
Keywords:
Mystus tengara; Chambal River; Nagda; Oxidative stress; Antioxidant enzymes; Lipid peroxidation; Biomonitoring; Aquatic pollution; Fish health; Biomarkers
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Copyright © 2026 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Liscense 4.0