Effect of Agave Americana (KETUKE) on the Kidney of Clarias Batrachus

Abstract

The present study work was conducted to investigate the effect of local plant piscicide, Agave americana (Ketuke) on behavioural changes of freshwater catfish Clarias batrachus and histological alterations in its kidney. The different concentration of extract of ‘Ketuke’ like 3gm, 4.5gm and 6gm and were exposed to the experimental fishes for 24, 48, 72 and 96 hours in each concentration. The restlessness, rapid opercular movement, loss of appetite, vigorous movement, and excessive secretion of slime from the skin was noted behavioural changes after keeping fishes in different concentrations of extract. Later fish became sluggish, lethargic and finally floated on the surface as dead. The histological alteration in the kidney of fishes was glomerular contraction, formation and clumping of melanomacrophages, degeneration of epithelial tissue along with the degeneration of renal tubules at all doses of Agave americana extracts. Increase in the Bowman’s space is one of the important histological changes due to the glomerular contraction. The accumulation of extracts in the tissue was noted as cloudy appearance. The necrosis in kidney might have resulted due to physiological and metabolical disturbance.