Occurrence of Bisphenol A (BPA) in Ponds, Rivers and Lagoons in South-Western Nigeria and Uptake in Cat Fish Evidence of Environmental Contamination

摘要

Fish, being one of the most abundant groups in the aquatic ecosystem are sometimes exposed to all sorts of environmental assaults such as heavy metal pollution and agricultural chemicals contamination, which can consequently have serious effects on the nutritive quality of fish inhabiting the contaminated aquatic environment. This study investigated the level of Bisphenol A (BPA) (a known endocrine disruptor) in the serum of Cat fish (Clarias gariepinus and Clarias nigrodigitatus) obtained from different ponds, rivers and lagoons in south western Nigeria, using the indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. The limit of detection (LOD) of the kit was 10pg/ml. BPA was found in all fish samples caught (ranging from 0.05±0.01μg/L- 2.76±0.97μg/L), with pond raised fishes having the highest BPA concentrations. Analysis of serum total cholesterol levels in the Cat fish revealed that Cat fish caught from lagoons had a significantly (p<0.05) higher serum total cholesterol levels compared with the others, no correlation was found between serum total cholesterol and serum BPA concentration in the fishes. The study also revealed there was no significant association between BPA concentrations (6-52μg/L) in the water samples and the physicochemical properties of the water samples from which the fishes were obtained. Contamination from aquatic environment is a major source of BPA exposure in fishes, hence there is need for regular monitoring of our aquatic environment and effective methods of waste disposal should be adopted to reduce the level of contaminants in these aquatic environment.