Augmenting fish health using Emblica officinalis against triarylmethane dye induced blood toxicity in Cyprinus carpio

Blood is a sensitive bioindicator of stress observed by organisms in response to toxicants. Erythrocytic morphological abnormalities serve as a reliable determinant of fish health. Malachite green, a multifunctional dye was assessed for toxicity in Cyprinus carpio. Dye-induced blood toxicity has been determined through biochemical and ultra structural endpoints at 15, 30 and 60 days in the fish. Further, an attempt has been made to combat the adverse effects of the toxicant through supplementation with Emblica officinalis. Electron microscopic study depicted erythrocytic remodelling in form of surface blebbing, lobopodial projections and shrinkage; appearance of crenate, acanthocytes, echinocytes, dacrocytes, spherocytes and rhomboidal cells. Hepatic marker enzymes showed significantly (p < 0.05) elevated levels of biomarker enzymes, alkaline phosphatase, serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase and serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase. Contrarily feeding with E. officinalis extract (1,000 mg/kg feed) significantly attenuated biochemical and morphological alterations, indicating the protective efficacy of E. officinalis. Both toxicity and attenuation observed were in exposure-dependent manner.