24 Kas 2024 Pazar
Epidemiology of helminth parasites and the impact of Pomphorhynchus on the levels of total thiol, glutathione peroxidase and glutathione reductase in Schizothorax plagiostomus
Abstract :Background and objective: Fish are an important group of vertebrates, as they serve as an important source of protein for people, and play important role in aquatic ecosystem food chains. However, like many other animals, fish are frequently challenged by different types of infectious diseases, some of which are caused by helminth parasites. Helminth parasites are an important group of parasites which include trematodes, cestodes, nematodes, and acanthocephalans. The main aim of this study was to study the epidemiology of helminth parasites in Schizothorax plagiostomus, a species of fish which is an important source of dietary protein for people in Kashmir, and plays an important role in this region’s local economy. After identifying infected and un-infected S. plagiostomus specimens, we analyzed antioxidant activities in fish tissues, including muscle, intestine, and liver tissue. Materials and Methods: The specimens of S. plagiostomus were collected with the help of a local fisherman from Sukhnag Stream (Budgam) and investigated for helminth parasites. The influence of Pomphorhynchus on the activities of antioxidant enzymes GPX, GR and non-enzymatic antioxidant GSH in muscle, intestine and liver tissues of S. plagiostomus was then analyzed. Results: Out of 341 specimens, 127 were infected with different types of helminth parasites resulting in an overall prevalence of 37.24%. The helminth parasites recovered during the present study include Diplozoon (trematode), Adenoscolex (Cestode) and Pomphorhynchus (Acanthocephala) with the prevalences of 8.79, 17.30 and 23.16 respectively. The presence of helminth parasites declined the ativities of GPX, GR and GSH in muscle, intestine and liver tissues of S. plagiostomus. Conclusion: This study found that the prevalence of helminth infections was highest during the summer (58.51%), and lowest during the winter (14.11%). Enzyme activities were lower in all tissues of fish infected with Pomphorhynchus than in tissues of fish not infected with Pomphorhynchus. GSH, a non-enzymatic antioxidant, was also lower in tissues of fish infected with Pomphorhynchus than in tissues of fish not infected with Pomphorhynchus. The decline in enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidants in infected fish can be due to presence of free radicals that are generated against parasites.
Helminth, parasite, acanthocephalan, Pomphorhyncus, Sukhnag