Effect of Ethanol on Branchial Adenosine Triphosphatases in Oreochromis mossambicus (Peters).

The aim of this work was to determine the toxicity of ethanol in an aquatic system by means of bioassays with Oreochromis mossambicus (Peters) as a test organism. The study revealed changes in the gill ATPase activities. The results obtained indicated that ethanol brought about a decrease in the body weight, followed by significant inhibition on total ATPase, Na(+)/K(+) ATPase, Ca(2+) ATPase and Mg(2+) ATPase activities. The studies also indicated that these can be employed as suitable biomarkers in ethanol related toxicity studies.