Effects of repeated exposure of diazinon on cholinesterase activity and growth in snakehead fish (Channa striata)

The organophosphate insecticide diazinon is widely used in the Mekong river delta and often applied several times per rice crop. In the present study, juvenile snakehead fish Channa striata, which is a commercially important inhabitant of rice fields, were exposed twice to 4-day pulses of 0.016, 0.079 or 0.35 mg/L of diazinon, separated by a 2 week interval to imitate the exposure conditions in the field. After the 4-day exposures to these environmentally realistic concentrations, the fish were moved to clean water for recovery. During this experiment, which lasted a total of 2 months, the individual growth rates and brain cholinesterase levels were measured. We show not only that diazinon caused long term inhibition of brain ChE activity, which was still significantly depressed at the termination of the experiment, but also that the highest of these realistic concentrations caused a significant 30% growth inhibition.