Assessment of Nonylphenol-Induced Endocrine Disruption in Carp (Cyprinidae): Biochemical, Histopathological and Molecular Investigations

Abstract

Nonylphenol (NP) exists as a worldwide Xeno estrogenic pollutant which emerges from the breakdown of non-ionic surfactants and presents significant ecological dangers to freshwater habitats. The study examined how NP disrupts hormone systems in common carp (Cyprinus carpio) after testing three different environmental exposure durations which used three different test concentrations (5, 25, and 100 µg/L). The study used biochemical methods to show that hepatic antioxidant enzyme activities experienced significant disruptions while the study measured lipid peroxidation levels. The histopathological analysis of gonadal, hepatic, and renal tissues revealed concentration-dependent degeneration which included intersex conditions and hepatocyte vacuolation and glomerular damage. The molecular research detected male specimens who showed increased vitellogenin (VTG) mRNA expression at 100 µg/L up to 34 times. The research findings show multiple mechanistic pathways through which NP functions as an endocrine disruptor in cyprinid fish which will affect surfactant metabolites risk assessment methods used in freshwater environments.