Sub-Lethal Sodium Arsenite Elicits Pronounced Lipid Peroxidation in Vital Organs of Zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Divya Prasad, Kundan Patel, Vikash Kumar, Gyanendra B. Chand

Abstract: Arsenic is a pervasive environmental contaminant that exerts profound toxicological effects on aquatic organisms, primarily through oxidative stress and disruption of redox homeostasis. Sub-lethal exposures are of particular concern, as they can impair physiological integrity without inducing overt mortality, thereby threatening population health and ecosystem stability. In the present study, we investigated lipid peroxidation (LPO) as an indicator of oxidative damage in the liver, kidney, and brain of adult zebrafish following sodium arsenite exposure at Sub-lethal levels. Fish were exposed to 10, 300, and 800 ppb sodium arsenite for 7, 21, and 42 days, and LPO levels were quantified by measuring malondialdehyde (MDA) formation via the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) assay. A significant, dose- and duration-dependent increase in MDA levels was observed across all tested tissues, reflecting progressive oxidative stress with increasing arsenite burden. The brain showed the highest vulnerability to lipid oxidative injury, followed by the liver and kidneys. The results establish that even sub-lethal concentrations of sodium arsenite trigger measurable oxidative perturbations, with organ-specific variations in sensitivity. Collectively, this study demonstrates that LPO is a robust and sensitive biomarker of arsenic-induced oxidative stress in zebrafish, providing mechanistic insights into sub-lethal arsenic toxicity and reinforcing the utility of Danio rerio as a sentinel species for aquatic ecotoxicological assessment.

Keywords: Sodium arsenite, Zebrafish (Danio rerio), Lipid peroxidation, Oxidative stress, Malondialdehyde (MDA), and TBARS assay

How to Cite?: Divya Prasad, Kundan Patel, Vikash Kumar, Gyanendra B. Chand, "Sub-Lethal Sodium Arsenite Elicits Pronounced Lipid Peroxidation in Vital Organs of Zebrafish (Danio rerio)", Volume 14 Issue 7, July 2025, International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), Pages: 1921-1925, https://www.ijsr.net/getabstract.php?paperid=SR25820170244, DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.21275/SR25820170244