Abstract
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•Curcumin ameliorates Cr6+ induced hepatoxicity in Channa punctatus.•Curcumin reduces Cr6+ induced oxidative stress by decreasing the activities of SOD, CAT, and GR.•Curcumin counteracts against Cr6+ induced genotoxicity.•Curcumin significantly (p < 0.05) recovered the changes in transcripts of genes.
Ameliorative potential of curcumin against Cr6+-induced eco-toxicological manifestations was assessed in liver of exposed Channa punctatus (Actinopterygii) in six groups for 45 d; Group I as control. Group II with 3 mg/L of curcumin; group III with 7.89 mg/L of Cr6+. Groups IV, V and VI were simultaneously co-exposed with 7.89 mg/L of Cr6+ and three different curcumin concentrations, 1, 2, and 3 mg/L, respectively. In group III, SOD-CAT, GR significantly (p < 0.05) increased; decreased GSH level; elevated MN and AC frequencies; and a significant (p < 0.05) up-regulation of cat (2.72-fold), p53 (1.73-fold), bax (1.33-fold) and apaf-1 (2.13-fold) together with a significant (p < 0.05) down-regulation of bcl-2 (0.51-fold). Co-exposure significantly (p < 0.05) brought down activities of SOD-CAT, GR, raised GSH, decreased micronuclei and apoptotic frequencies along with recovery of histopathological anomalies in liver. This study establishes the protective role of curcumin against Cr6+-induced hepatotoxicity in fish.