Antioxidant and antiapoptotic activities of Calotropis procera latex on Catfish (Clarias gariepinus) exposed to toxic 4-nonylphenol Alaa El-Din H. Sayed a,n , Nadia H. Mohamed b,c , Mady A. Ismail b , Wael M. Abdel-Mageed d,e , Ahmed A.M. Shoreit b,n a Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt b Department of Botany and Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt c Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and Art, Samtah, Jazan University, Saudi Arabia d Pharmacognosy Department, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia e Pharmacognosy Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt article info Article history: Received 8 November 2015 Received in revised form 19 February 2016 Accepted 23 February 2016 Available online 3 March 2016 Keywords: Calotropis procera Latex Antioxidant Apoptosis Catfish 4-nonylphenol abstract Calotropis procera L. is known as medicinal plant. The Phytochemical analyzes of its latex revealed that it possessed antioxidants, namely terpenes, phenolic compounds and cardenolides, flavonoids and sapo- nins, while tannins, alkaloids and resin were absent in moderate to high concentration. In the present study, the role of latex of Calotropis procera as antioxidant and antiapoptotic was reported. To carry out this aim, fishes were exposed to 100 mgl À1 4-nonylphenol as chemical pollutant. The enzymes, super- oxidase dismutase, catalase, acetlycholinstrase (AchE), glutathione s-transferase, cortisol, G6PDH) and apoptotic cells increased significantly (p o0.05) accompanied by irregular disturbance of (Na þ ,K þ ) ions in the presence of 4-nonylphenol. On the other hand, these enzymes, ions, and apoptotic cells decreased normally and significantly (p o0.05) in the presence of latex. Total phenol content, total capacity anti- oxidant, reducing power decrease significantly (p o0.05) in the presence of 4-nonylphenol and increase normally in the presence of latex. Latex was used for the first time to protect catfish after 4-nonylphenol exposure. Our study confirms that crude latex of Calotropis procera possessed antioxidant and anti- apoptotic activities against the toxicity of 4-Nonylphenol. & 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Pollution of water is one of the major problems in Egypt (Ab- del-Shafy and Aly, 2002). Chemical pollution appears to be due to increase of industrialization. 4-nonylphenol (NP) is widely used in the manufacture of non-ionic surfactants, lubricants, stabilizer polymers, insecticides and herbicides (Gao et al., 2000; Soares et al., 2008). It has been found in aquatic environment, particularly in river water and it is toxic, soluble, stable and persistent in the environment (Rivero et al., 2008). It has sublethal effects including reduced fertility, irregular heart beat and loss of movement (Cox, 2003). The adverse effects of this compound are most probably due to its bioaccumulation in fish (Soares et al., 2008). The he- matotoxic, biochemical, hormonal, histopathological, embryotoxic and genotoxic effects of 4-nonylphenol in catfish were reported (Mekkawy et al., 2011; Sayed et al., 2012a; Sayed et al., 2013; Sayed et al., 2012c; Sayed et al., 2012b; Sayed et al., 2011). African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) has been used as an excellent model for tox- icological studies since it has a well-documented biology, used as human diet and extensively use in aquaculture (Mahmoud et al., 2009; Mekkawy et al., 2010). Scientific evidence suggests that under oxidative stress condi- tions, oxygen radicals such as superoxide anion (O 2 À ), hydroxyl radical (OH) and peroxyl radicals (H 2 O 2 ) are produced in biological systems. These oxygen radicals termed also as Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) produces oxidative damage to cellular components such as proteins, lipids and DNA leading to cytotoxicity and cell death (Prabha and Vasantha, 2011). Calotropis procera Ait. (Family Asclepiadaceae) is an ayurvedic plant with important medicinal properties. It is found in most parts of the world with a warm climate in dry, sandy and alkaline soils. It is an erect, tall, large, highly branched and perennial shrub or small tree that grows to a height of 5.4 m, with milky latex (Ramos et al., 2007). Latex is a natural plant polymer secreted by highly specialized cells known as laticifers. It is milky fluid se- creted by ducts of laticiferous tissue (Hagel et al., 2008) and Contents lists available at ScienceDirect journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ecoenv Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2016.02.023 0147-6513/& 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. n Corresponding authors. E-mail addresses: alaa_h254@yahoo.com (A.H. Sayed), ashoreit1968@yahoo.com (A.A.M. Shoreit). Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 128 (2016) 189–194