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The current study was carried out on dominant fish Oreochromis niloticus and water collected from the polluted Yamuna River, Agra, India. The heavy metals in water, recorded as follows: Fe > Mn > Zn > Cu > Ni > Cr > Cd and all were found to be above the prescribed limits. According to metal pollution index, exposed muscle (49.86), kidney (47.68) and liver (45.26) have been recorded to have higher bioaccumulation. The blood biochemical analysis of exposed O. niloticus indicated significant increase in activities of aspartate aminotransferase (+ 343.5%), alkaline phosphatase (+ 673.6%), alanine aminotransferase (+ 309.1%), and creatinine (+ 494.3%) over the reference. However, a significant decrease in albumin (A): globulins (G) ratio (- 87.86%) was observed. Similarly, the exposed fish also showed significant increase in total leucocyte count (+ 121%), differential leucocyte count, respiratory burst (+ 1175%), and nitric oxide synthase (+ 420%). The histological examination of liver and kidney showed tissue injury. Moreover, micronuclei (0.95%), kidney shaped nuclei (1.2%), and lobed nuclei (0.6%) along with DNA damage in the form of mean tail length in the liver (20.7 µm) and kidney (16.5 µm) was observed in the exposed O. niloticus. Potential health risk assessments based on estimated daily intake, target hazard quotient, hazard index, and target cancer risk indicated health risks associated with the consumption of these contaminated fishes. In conclusion, the present study showed that exposure to heavy metals contaminated water can alter immunological response; induce histopathological alterations and DNA damage in the studied fish. The consumption of this contaminated water or fish could have serious impact on human health.

Water quality index (WQI) of Narora channel and health of endemic fish Bagarius bagarius and plant Eichhornia crassipes, district Bulandshahar, Uttar Pradesh, India were studied. Among the physicochemical properties of water, pH, D.O, Cr, Fe, Ni, and Cd were above the recommended standards. These factors lead to high WQI (4124.83), indicating poor quality and not suitable for drinking and domestic usage. In fish tissues, the highest metal load was reported in the liver (58.29) and the lowest in the kidney (33.73). Heavy metals also cause a lowering of condition indices. As expected, decreased serum protein (− 63.41%) and liver glycogen (− 79.10%) were recorded in the exposed fish. However, blood glucose (47.22%) and serum glycogen (74.69%) showed elevation. In the plant, roots (21.50) contained the highest, and leaves (16.87) had the lowest heavy metal load. Bioaccumulation factor (BAF) > 1, indicates hyperaccumulation of all metals. E. crassipes roots showed the highest translocation factor (TF) > 1 for Ni (1.57) and Zn (1.30). The high mobility factor (MF) reflected the suitability of E. crassipes for phytoextraction of Mn, Cd, Zn, Fe, Ni, and Cu. Moreover, Bagarius sp. consumption could not pose any non-cancer risk. Although, lower cancer risk can be expected from Ni and Cr. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]