IOSR Journal Of Environmental Science, Toxicology And Food Technology (IOSR-JESTFT) e-ISSN: 2319-2402,p- ISSN: 2319-2399. Volume 5, Issue 1 (Jul. - Aug. 2013), PP 59-63 www.Iosrjournals.Org www.iosrjournals.org 59 | Page Impact of Shea Butter Effluent on Biochemical and Heamatological Profiles of Clarias Gariepinus Adewoye S.O, Adedigba A.E, And Opasola O.A Department Of Pure And Applied Biology Ladoke Akintola University Of Technology, P.M.B 4000 Ogbomoso, Oyo State Nigeria Abstract: The toxicity of shea Butter effluent (SBE) was investigated with emphasis on hematological, and biochemical profiles of Clarias gariepinus. adults of 280g_ + 0.3. The haematological indices revealed that increased in the concentration of the effluent brings about a corresponding decrease in the PVC, RBC, and Hemoglobin of the test organism. In the other way round, the volume of white Blood cell decreased at concentration of 0.003, 0.005, 0.007, and 0.009 but increased sharply at 0.011ppt concentration.In the same vein, the shea butter effluents causes a decline in the biochemical composition of Clariasgariepnusvis-à-vis Albumin, protein, cholesterol, Glucose and Urea when compared to the control treatment. Therefore, Shea butter effluent is highly toxic to freshwater fishes, its discharged directly into water bodies, new fish farms or in areas close to aquatic environment should not be encouraged. Keyword: Shea butter, Effluent, Clarias gariepinus, heamatological, biochemical I. Introduction Fish constitutes a very important component of diet for many people and often provides much needed nutrients not provided elsewhere in animal based diets. Fish is the oldest group of vertebrate and the most numerous with estimates of about 20,000 species. They are of immense importance as a protein source, item of commerce, employment and recreation for humans, as well as, the production of animal feed (FAO, 2000, Adewoye et al., 2005). About one billion people worldwide rely on fish as their main source of protein as it contains sufficient amounts of all essential amino acids required by the body for growth and maintenance of lean muscle tissue (FRDC, 2001). Over 25,000 metric tones of fish are caught regularly but greater percentages are used for direct human consumption (FAO, 2000). Fisheries play a major role in the agricultural sector of Nigerian economy, as it is a venture aimed at meeting animal protein of man and to have foreign exchange. Fishes are grown for commercial purpose to meet the dire need of animal protein of man and to earn foreign exchange (Fagadeet al., 1993). Ayeni (1993) reported that Nigeria with about 13 million hectares of freshwater bodies has the potentials of developing fish production as high as 511,702mt per year, this he observed was because the natural population of fish is being threatened as a result of over exploitation and pollution of various kinds. Hence the potentials for developing fish aquaculture in order to feed the populace and to earn foreign exchange for Nigeria is still very low (Fagadeet al., 1993). Pollution of the aquatic environment with various chemicals is related to nutritional, reproductive, and behavioral problems that have been occurring in organisms, especially fish, living within the polluted are. Consequence, this pollution can create significant problems at either the individual or the population level, and lead to a decrease in the population, resulting in unexpected threats to wildlife and to the human consumers of these organisms. By this decade, biomarker studies, used in the evaluation of environmental health as an indicator of toxic effects of environmental pollutants, have become very important and essential. Changes in biochemical level are the “early warning” responses of an organism to environmental alterations and are critically important. Identification of molecular biomarkers associated with the early prediction, diagnosis and monitoring of major physiological alterations and diseases of fish caused by pollution, may contribute towards in situ conservation of fish populations. As a consequence, biomarkers can be taken as short-term indications of biological effects that will be seen in either the long or short term (Balochet al., 2001). This study was carried out to investigate the effects of shea butter effluent on heamatological and biochemical profiles of C. gariepinus. II. Methodology This experiment was carried out at the fish laboratory of the Department of Pure and Applied Biology of LadokeAkintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso.