USE OF BIOCHEMICAL AND HISTOLOGICAL MARKERS OF BARBUS PELOPONNESIUS FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF POLLUTANT CONTAMINATION OF THE VARDAR RIVER, R. MACEDONIA

Biochemical and histopathological analysis for the assessment of the exposure of the aquatic organisms towards the environmental pollution has found a great use in biomonitoring studies of aquatic ecosystems. Biochemical markers, concretely, the liver enzymes of the first phase of transformation of xenobiotics-cytochrome P450 (CYP450), ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) and the histological markers, concretely, histopathological changes in the liver parenchyma were used in this study to assess the aquatic environmental pollution of the locations of the river Vardar in the Republic of Macedonia. The selected locations of this river were Vardar river near Vrtok ? control station (L1), Vardar river in Jegunovce (L2), Vardar river on the outskirts of Skopje (L3) and Vardar river on the outskirts of Veles (L4). As an indicator species was selected Barbus peloponnesius V. High levels of catalytic activity of EROD in the liver of this fish was highlighted in the Vardar river in Jegunovce (141.71 ± 7.59 pmol min-1 mg-1 protein), in the Vardar river on the outskirts of Skopje (132.43 ± 7.16 pmol min-1 mg-1 protein) and in the Vardar river on the outskirts of Velesit (104.34 ± 8.86 pmol min-1 mg-1 protein), compared to the catalytic level of EROD in the liver of this fish of the control group (2.41 ± 0.23 pmol min-1 mg-1 protein). From the histopathological analysis of the fragments analyzed in the liver parenchyma of these fish which were collected in the bottom flows of the river Vardar were ascertained many histopathological changes. The results of this study authenticate the pollution in localities along the downstream of the river Vardar. The results show that the use of chemical and histological markers for assessing water quality is an appropriate method that can fit with the classical methods of monitoring the pollutants.