Diclofenac Induced Genotoxicity in the Gill Tissue of Channa Punctatus

Pharmaceuticals have emerged as priority pollutants in recent times. The enormous usage of these drugs has led to pollution of the aquatic systems all over the globe. Diclofenac is the most widely prescribed non-steroidal anti inflammatory drug. The drug Diclofenac has been detected in surface waters in the magnitude of ng/L to µg/L. There are many investigations on the toxicity of the drug Diclofenac in aquatic flora and fauna. This study aims to examine diclofenac induced genotoxicity in the gill tissue of Channa punctatus. The acute toxicity test was conducted by exposing the fish to ten different concentrations of diclofenac for 96 hours. The median lethal concentration was found to be 25.28 ppm. Genotoxicity was evaluated by exposing the fish to median lethal concentration (25.28 ppm) and sub lethal concentration (8.42 ppm) of Diclofenac. DNA damage was estimated by Comet assay (Singh et al., 1988). There was an increase in the percentage of tail DNA, tail length and tail moment in the gill cells of the exposed fish in both the set concentrations of Diclofenac. The present study clearly indicates that the drug Diclofenac damages DNA of the aquatic organisms like fish. This study also signifies that genotoxic studies are effective biomarkers in the assessment of pollution. Key words: Diclofenac, genotoxicity, Channa punctatus, DNA, Gil