Accumulation patterns of cadmium in tissues of Indian Catfish Clarias batrachus

A study was conducted to determine the accumulation pattern of cadmium in selected tissues of Clarias batrachus. Sixty Clarias batrachus were first acclimatized for 15 days in plastic pools filled with non-chlorinated water and subsequently divided equally into four groups and subjected to different concentrations (0, 14, 28 and 56 mg/L) of cadmium for a period of 96 hours. Physio-chemical attributes viz. pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, hardness and choride content of aquaria water were monitored. Following 96h of exposure, all the fishes were sacrificed and cadmium content of various organs were assessed. The result revealed that the highest level of cadmium was accumulated in kidney 17.276±0.975 ppm, followed by liver 4.018±0.508, gill 2.881±0.138 and intestine 2.493±0.285. Skin and muscles accumulated the lowest level (0.135±0.010 to 0.982±0.027) of cadmium. The kidney and liver seems to be the target organ for cadmium accumulation with respect to exposure level in Clarias batrachus and may have public health significance for human consumer.