FT-IR study of the effect of zinc exposure on the biochemical contents of the muscle of Labeo rohita

Heavy metal pollution is a major environmental problem in the modern world due to increasing human activities. Zinc is an essential element involved in a wide variety of cellular processes. However, it becomes toxic when elevated concentrations are introduced into the environment. The goal of the present study is to investigate the effect of zinc exposure on the biochemical contents of the muscle tissues of freshwater species Labeo rohita using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. Since the muscle constitutes the greatest mass of the fish that is consumed, the present study has paid particular attention to muscle component. The result reveals that the zinc exposure causes significant changes in the biochemical contents of the L. rohita muscle tissues. In addition, it causes an alteration in the protein secondary structures by decreasing the α-helix and increasing the β-sheet contents of muscle tissues. Further, it has been observed that the administration of chelating agent D-penicillamine improves the protein and lipid contents in the muscle tissues compared to zinc exposed tissues. This result shows that D-penicillamine is the effective chelator of zinc in reducing the body burden of L. rohita fingerlings.