Effect of Bisphenol A on certain Hematological Parameters of Heteropneustes fossilis, Bloch

Effect of Bisphenol A on the hematological parameters total RBC count, total WBC count and hemoglobin content was assessed in Heteropneustes fossilis caught from wild. Behavioural changes were also monitored. It was found that 72 hour exposure of BPA at a concentration of 0.1g/L has lowered total RBC count and increased WBC count. Hemoglobin concentration in the blood also decreased exposure to BPA concentration of 0.1g/L. Severe mortalities in the experimental tanks were noticed at 0.5g/L and 0.1g/L concentrations of BPA. Another significant finding was that the specimens of experimental animal, Heteropneustes fossilis is extremely scarce to be obtained from wild in the regions of Alappuzha, Kerala. KeywordsHetropneustes fossilis, Bisphenol A, total RBC count, total WBC count, hemoglobin INTRODUCTION Bisphenol A is a synthetic chemical which is widely used in the production of polycarbonate plastics, epoxy resins and other plastic materials. Polycarbonate is widely used in food contact materials even in infant feeding bottles and this can lead to consumer exposure of BPA through food since the chemical can migrate from food contact materials (INFOSAN, 2009). The leaching of BPA from food contact materials increases with increase in temperature and age. Temperature seems to be a more influencing factor for the leaching of BPA into food, than the age of the food container (OEHHA, 2009; Rubin, 2011). BPA is known as an endocrine disruptor which acts as a weak environmental estrogen, but recent studies have shown that in stimulating certain cellular responses, it acts as a potent estradiol (Rubin, 2011). Endocrine disruptors are naturally occurring or synthetic chemicals which mimic or interfere with the action of hormones in the body. Various studies in animals show that endocrine disruptors can have negative implications in the function of reproductive system as well as other functions of the body. It is advocated that similar effects are shown in human body leading to infertility and other reproductive problems. Evidences suggest that these chemicals may have effects on obesity and diabetes (NIH, 2007). The leaching of BPA into aquatic ecosystem mainly show its effects on the reproductive system of fishes and shell fish, which very well confirm its action as an endocrine disruptor by showing estrogen like activity (OEHHA, 2009). Diethylphthalate, a kind of plasticizer, which also shows endocrine related effects, is found to affect various hematological parameters like red blood cell count, white blood cell count, hemoglobin content, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration and mean cell volume in fresh water fish Oreochromis mossambicus (Sepperumal & Saminathan, 2013). Heteropneustes fossilis is a fresh water swamp fish belonging to the family Heteropneustidae, easily available and is of cheap cost. Though H. fossilis is a hardy fish capable of thriving various adverse environmental conditions, various studies have shown that many synthetic chemicals, mainly pesticides and insecticides can make it