Toxicity of Parkia biglobosa and Raphia vinifera extracts on Clarias gariepinus juveniles

Acute toxicity tests were carried out with aqueous and ethanolic extracts of two botanicals on Clarias gariepinus juveniles. 96-h LC50 values for Parkia biglobosa aqueous (AEPB) and ethanolic extracts (EEPB) were 2.8 and 2.4 ppm, respectively. While for Raphia vinifera aqueous (AERV) and ethanolic extracts (EERV), the values were 3.4 and 3.2 ppm, respectively. The resulting 96-h LC50 values showed that extracts of P. biglobosa were more potent than the extracts of R. vinifera and that EEPB was the most toxic. Histopathological changes in liver and gill of exposed fish showed subtle cellular damages like necrosis, lesions, oedema and hepatocytes. Key Words: Botanicals, toxicity, juveniles, Clarias gariepinus . African Journal of Biotechnology Vol.3(11) 2004: 627-630