Exposure of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niluticus) to titanium oxide nanoparticles and microplastics: Impact on blood parameters

Organisms Exposure to multiple contaminants in the environment can have different effects on them than when exposed to only one pollutant. Investigation of the impacts of nano titaniumdioxide and microplastic, on Nile tilapia was the aim of this study. 270 fish (average weight of 23.5±0.6 g) in factorial design (including concentrations of 0, 1 and 5 mg/l nanotitanium and concentrations of 0.5 0 and 1mg/l microplastic) were treated for 30 days in triplicate. The results indicated that the amount of protein in all groups showed a significant decrease compare with control (P<0.05). The amount of albumin and globulin in all groups showed a decrease that was not significant in the microplastic groups alone (P>0.05). Creatinine phosphokinase (CPK) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activities as well as triglyceride levels showed a significant increase in all groups except the microplastic group alone (P<0.05). Gammaglutamyl transferase (GGT) activity in all groups showed a significant increase compared to controls (P<0.05). Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity and glucose levels showed a significant increase only in the groups exposed to pollutants (P<0.05) and cholesterol levels did not show a significant change in any of the groups (P>0.05). In general, the results of the recent study showed that the combined groups had more effects on fish. Also, in comparison with the effects of the two pollutants, titanium dioxide had more effects than microplastics and caused more changes in blood parameters.