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STUDY OF USING ALOE ON FISH WITH INJURED SKIN

ENVIRONMENTAL PATHOLOGY OF FISH

OBJECTIVES: Determine the effects of water pollution on egg yolk synthesis. Identify the role of chemical carcinogens as a cause of tumors of fish.

APPROACH: The effects of Aroclor 1254 on vitellogenesis will be studied in vitro with primary cultures of channel catfish hepatocytes. Varying concentrations will be used to establish a dose-response for repression of vitellogenin synthesis. The study of vitellogenesis will also include quantification of receptor-mediated uptake of radiolabeled vitellogenin by oocytes cultured in vitro. Future experiments will utilize these models to test the effects of other toxicants. Rivulus, a small brackish-water fish, will be exposed to diethylnitrosamine, a chemical carcinogen. Morphologic and biochemical changes in the liver of exposed fish will be determined at different times after exposure. Immuno-histochemical techniques will be used to examine preneoplastic lesions and neoplasms for ras, raf, erbB, fos, myc, and p53 oncogene expression, bromodeoxyuridine incorporation, and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase activity.

PROGRESS: 1992/10 TO 1997/09
Following handling or transportation, bluegills (Lepomis macrochirus) are often subject to high mortality caused by bacterial infection. Studies using Dermaide Aloe (99.9% pure liquid aloe vera) and acemannan (an extract from aloe vera gel) were conducted on bluegills with injured skin to determine if these chemicals increased wound healing or survival. Bluegills, 7.5-10.0 cm in total length, were wounded and exposed to Aeromonas hydrophila. Following bacterial exposure the fish were kept in water containing various concentrations of Dermaide Aloe or acemannan for 3 h and then transferred to troughs with flow through well water. Aeromonas hydrophila was cultured from the livers, kidneys, or cutaneous lesions of all fish dying within 24 h after treatment, regardless of treatment. None of the Dermaide Aloe or acemannan treatments had survival rates that were significantly different from the wounded control treatment. Grossly and histologically there was no indication of improved healing of wounds on fish treated with Dermaide Aloe or acemannan. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of Dermaide Aloe for A. hydrophila, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Escherichia coli was between 23.2 and 50%; therefore, the concentrations of aloe vera used in these studies were too low to have an antibacterial effect.

PUBLICATIONS: 1992/10 TO 1997/09
1. Croll, N.B. 1997. Ultrastructure of leukocytes in acutely inflamed dermis and muscle of channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, at different temperatures. M.S. Thesis, Auburn Univeristy, Alabama.
2. Farrow-Harris, F.L. 1997. Evaluation of the ability of aloe vera to enhance wound healing and survival of injured bluegill, Lepomis macrochirus. M.S. Thesis, Auburn Univeristy, Alabama.
3. McLaughlin, S.A., J.M. Grizzle, and H.E. Whiteley. 1997 Ocular lesions in largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides, subjected to the stresses of handling and containment. Veterinary and Comparative Ophthalmology 7:5-9.

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