Acute Toxicity of Adenia cissampeloides in Farmed African Catfish (Clarias gariepinus)

The study evaluated acute toxicity of Adenia cissampeloides leaf extract on early life stages of farmed African catfish. 160 fingerlings were divided into four groups using a completely randomized design in a factorial layout and were exposed to 25, 50 and 100 mg/L of the extract for 24, 48, 72 and 96 hours, respectively while the control animals were kept without any treatment. The percentage mortality rate and acute – lethal toxicity (LC50) were determined for the different durations of exposure. Results obtained indicated a significant dose – dependent increase in mortality in groups of animals treated with the extract of the plant whereas no mortality was recorded in the control group. Moreover, the duration of exposure also affected the mortality rate, with the highest percentage of mortality observed in groups of animals exposed the extract for 96 h. The LC50 for the Adenia cissampeloides extract to 96 h exposure was 42.38 mg/L with lower and upper confidence limits of 22.20 and 80.88 mg/L. Therefore, the study shows that Adenia cissampeloides extract has acute toxic effects on early life stages of farmed African catfish.