Abstract
The present study was undertaken to evaluate the influence of butachlor, a widely used herbicide, on antioxidant enzyme system and lipid peroxidation formation in African cat fish (Clarias gariepinus). Fish were exposed to sub-lethal concentrations of butachlor 1, 2, 2.5 ppm and sacrificed 24hrs after treatment. A significant increase in malondialdehyde formation was observed in the liver, kidney, gills and heart of the fish following exposure to different concentrations of butachlor. Superoxide dismutase and catalase activities increased in the liver and kidney but decreased in the gills and heart in a concentration-dependent pattern. Glutathione level and glutathione-Stransferase activities increased (P<0.05) in the liver but decreased in the kidneys, gills and heart when fishes were exposed to the three concentrations of butachlor. The results suggest that butachlor induced oxidative stress in the various tissues of the fish particularly in the kidney and as such the organ may be subjected to severe oxidative toxicity due to depressed glutathione detoxification system.