Bulletin of Pure & Applied Sciences- Zoology

The present paper deals with the changes in cholesterol level of liver during starvation in Clarias batrachus. In the present investigation, the level of cholesterol content was found relatively higher in females than in males both under normal and starved conditions. The cholesterol content was estimated by the Sackett's method (1925). From the beginning of starvation, the cholesterol concentration of liver showed sharp depletion and after 40 days, it decreased up to 80% in male & 76% in female. This rapid decrease in cholesterol level observed in hepatic tissues may be attributed to the synthesis of stress hormones such as glucocorticoids and adrenocorticoids, which may promote gluconeogenesis and may help the animal to combat the stressful condition of starvation. Clarias adapted well to starvation stress and survived all throughout the experimental period.