RESEARCH ARTICLE Cadmium Induced Lipid Peroxidation and Effects on Glutathione Dependent Enzymes in Tissues of Labeo rohita Anurag Dabas • N. S. Nagpure • R. M. Mishra • Ravindra Kumar • Basdeo Kushwaha • Rashmi Srivastava • Pavan Kumar Received: 21 June 2013 / Revised: 8 October 2013 / Accepted: 18 November 2013 / Published online: 28 December 2013 Ó The National Academy of Sciences, India 2013 Abstract The present study is aimed to assess the oxidative stress biomarker in kidney and liver of Labeo rohita exposed to the sub-lethal concentrations of cadmium chloride. The fishes were exposed to 33.6, 67.1 and 100.6 mg L -1 con- centrations of cadmium chloride up to 96 h duration and the oxidative stress was monitored through the levels of lipid peroxidation (LPO), reduced glutathione and activities of antioxidant enzymes, viz. glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST). The malondialdehyde content, level of reduced glutathione and activities of anti- oxidant enzymes were significantly (p \ 0.05) elevated in treated groups with the increasing concentration and expo- sure duration. Regression analysis showed a significant positive correlation between elevated levels of LPO and reduced glutathione (r 2 = 0.999 and 0.991 in liver and kidney, respectively) as well as glutathione and its dependent enzymes (r 2 = 0.999 and 0.996 with GPx and GST, respectively) at 96 h post-exposure in both the tissues of L. rohita. Further, the increased level of reduced glutathione and activity of glutathione dependent enzymes were not effective in reducing the cadmium induced oxidative stress in the fish. These assays may be employed to monitor oxi- dative stress mediated macro-molecular damage in aquatic organisms due to heavy metal exposure. Keywords Cadmium Á Glutathione Á Glutathione peroxidase Á Glutathione-S-transferase Á Labeo rohita Á Lipid peroxidation Introduction Cadmium is considered as one of the most toxic heavy metals which poses a serious environmental threat, although the mechanism of its toxicity is still poorly understood [1]. Cadmium is released into the environment from mining and metal processing operations, burning fuels, making and using phosphate fertilizers and disposing of metal products. It is a non-essential element readily absorbed by aquatic organisms directly from the water in its free ionic form as cadmium 2? [2]. The toxicity of the metal is related to the free ionic concentration, which is variable in aquatic organisms even between closely related species. At higher doses, it induces structural and func- tional alterations in various vital organs, including liver and kidney of the fish [3]. Several reviews [4–6] have highlighted the toxic potential of cadmium and its ability to produce biotic changes in aquatic ecosystems. It is commonly used in eco- A. Dabas Á N. S. Nagpure Á R. Kumar (&) Á B. Kushwaha Á R. Srivastava Á P. Kumar Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Division, National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources, Canal Ring Road, P.O. Dilkusha, Lucknow 226002, UP, India e-mail: ravindra.scientist@gmail.com A. Dabas e-mail: anuragdabas123@gmail.com N. S. Nagpure e-mail: nagpurens@yahoo.co.in B. Kushwaha e-mail: basdeo.scientist@gmail.com R. Srivastava e-mail: r_24ras@rediffmail.com P. Kumar e-mail: pavan.nbfgr@gmail.com R. M. Mishra School of Environmental Biology, Awadhesh Pratap Singh University, Rewa, Madhya Pradesh, India e-mail: vcapsu@gmail.com 123 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., India, Sect. B Biol. Sci. (Oct–Dec 2014) 84(4):981–988 DOI 10.1007/s40011-013-0280-9