Effect of Yerbimat Herbicide on Lipid Peroxidation, Catalase Activity, and Histological Damage in Gills and Liver of the Freshwater Fish Goodea Atripinnis Esperanza Ortiz-Ordon ˜ez • Esther Urı ´a-Galicia • Ricardo Arturo Ruiz-Picos • Angela Georgina Sa ´nchez Duran • Yoseline Herna ´ndez Trejo • Jacinto Elı ´as Seden ˜ o-Dı ´az • Eugenia Lo ´pez-Lo ´pez Received: 30 August 2010 / Accepted: 17 January 2011 / Published online: 9 February 2011 Ó Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011 Abstract The use of herbicides for agricultural and aquatic weed control has increased worldwide. These substances are potentially toxic pollutants because they induce the production of reactive oxygen species for bio- logical systems and exert oxidative stress in nontarget organisms living in the treated aquatic systems. Recent evidence suggests differences in the toxicity of glyphosate in the form of an active ingredient compared to the toxicity of glyphosate in combination with surfactants, such as those found in commercial formulations. In Mexico, one of the most widely used glyphosate-based herbicides is Yerbimat, which has agricultural as well as aquatic weed control applications. However, there are no aquatic toxicity data, particularly regarding native fish. Therefore, we determined the acute toxicity of commercial-formulation Yerbimat in a static bioassay at 96 h (LC 50 ). We also determined its toxicity at 96 h in sublethal concentrations to assess the lipid peroxidation levels (LPX), catalase activity, hepatic glycogen content, and histological damage in the liver and gills of the fish Goodea atripinnis associ- ated with chronic exposure (75 days). The LC 50 was 38.95 ± 0.33 mg/L. The results of the short-term exposure study indicate that Yerbimat can potentially induce oxi- dative stress in G. atripinnis, because LPX was increased in the gills and liver. Catalase activity was reduced in the gills but increased in the liver, whereas hepatic glycogen was depleted. Chronic exposure was associated with his- topathological damage in the gills and liver, some of which was irreversible. Yerbimat represents a potential risk for aquatic biota; therefore, we recommend that its application be carefully considered. The use of herbicides in agriculture, particularly glyphos- ate-based herbicides, has increased markedly in the last years, and their use has generated serious concerns about potential adverse effects of these chemicals on the envi- ronment and associated biota (Burger and Ferna ´ndez 2004; Cox 2004; Nivia 2006). The current spread of water hya- cinth (Eichhornia crassipes Mart.) in major rivers and lakes worldwide has led to the increased use of glyphosate- based herbicides in bodies of water (Olaleye and Akinyemiju 1996). Glyphosate (N-phosphonomethylgly- cine) is highly water soluble (10,000–15,700 mg/L at 25°C; US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) 1993) and has a low vapor pressure (7.5 9 10 -8 mm Hg) (Schuette 1998), which suggests that the amount lost to the atmosphere from treated surfaces will be low (Battaglin et al. 2005). The half-life of glyphosate in aquatic envi- ronments is reported to range from 7 days to 4 months (Frank 1990; Giesy et al. 2000; Schuette 1998; Tu et al. 2001). Thus, glyphosate is frequently detected in many rivers in both agricultural and urban regions (Pesce et al. 2008); this contamination might pose considerable E. Ortiz-Ordon ˜ez Á E. Urı ´a-Galicia Laboratorio de Histologı ´a, Departamento de Morfologı ´a, ENCB, IPN, Prol. de Carpio y Plan de Ayala s/n Col. Santo Toma ´s, Mexico, DF 11340, Mexico R. A. Ruiz-Picos Á A. G. Sa ´nchez Duran Á Y. Herna ´ndez Trejo Á E. Lo ´pez-Lo ´pez (&) Laboratorio de Ictiologı ´a y Limnologı ´a, Departamento de Zoologı ´a, ENCB, IPN, Prol. de Carpio y Plan de Ayala s/n Col. Santo Toma ´s, Mexico, DF 11340, Mexico e-mail: eulopez@ipn.mx J. E. Seden ˜o-Dı ´az Programa Ambiental del IPN, Edificio Adolfo Ruiz Cortines, Av. Wilfrido Massieu esq. Av. Luis Enrique Erro, Unidad Profesional Adolfo Lo ´pez Mateos, Col. Zacatenco, Mexico, DF 07738, Mexico 123 Arch Environ Contam Toxicol (2011) 61:443–452 DOI 10.1007/s00244-011-9648-0