Heteropeustes fossils were exposed to: A) Tap water fed on 2 gm shrimps control, B) 10 pmm Cadmium chloride solution in tap water fed on 2 gm shrimps daily and C) 10 ppm CdCl₂ solution in tap water fed on 2 gm of special food which consisted of 25 gm Liv.52 powder (made by The Himalaya Drug Company, Bombay) in 100 gm of powdered shrimps. In each case 2 gm food was mixed in drop of neutral paraffin.

Experiment was done for 30 days. On 31^st day liver was processed for histology. Camera lucida drawings were made to record size of hepatocytes. Gall bladder was also measured for its size. Cd-Damages hepatocyrtes. Blood vessels and caused infiltration. In group ‘C’ liver shows healthy hyperactive liver cells. Cd-exposure caused enlargement of gall bladder while it’s size is normal in-group C.

Possible mode of action of this herbal hepatotonic drug is discussed.

Thirty Heteropneustes fossils 10-15 long, 25-30 gm wt of both sexes were divided into following three groups.

GROUP A: CONTROL: No treatment, exposed to tap water.

GROUP B: Cd-exposure: Fish exposed to 10 ppm CdCl₂ solution in tap water.

GROUP C: Cd-Exposure plus Liv.52 Administration. Fish exposed to 10 ppm CdCl₂ solution in tap water fed on special food.

For Group ‘A’ and ‘B’ food consisted of 2 gm dried shrimps mixed in a drop of liquid paraffin per day. Special food consisted of well mixed 25 gm of Liv.52 powder in 100 gms of powdered dried shrimps. 2 gms of this mixture was mixed with a drop of liquid paraffin and fed to fish of Group ‘C’ every day. Medium was changed twice a week. No mortality was recorded in any group.

Experiment was done for 30 days. On 31^st day all fishes were killed. Sections Bouins fixed liver were stained in Delafield-Eosin. Carefully freed gall bladder was placed on graph paper to record its length and width. Camera-lucida drawings were made to record size of hepatocytes.

Each Liv.52 tablet contains:

Capparis spinosa65 mg

Cichorium intybus 65mg

Solanum nigrum 32mg

Cassia occidentalis 16mg

Terminalia arjuna 32mg

Achillea millefolium 16mg

Tamarix gallica 16mg

Mandur Bhasma 33mg

For details see Liv.52 A Monograph published by manufacturer, The Himalaya Drug Company, Bombay.

Appetite: Fish in Group ‘B’ did not consume given food fully while in Group ‘A" and ‘C’ fish consumed given food in 3 hours.

Group C normal structure suggest protective role of drug.

Size of Gall Bladder: Cd exposure causes swelling of gall bladder while normal size is seen in Group ‘C’ Data are given in Table 2.

1. Appetite: Results shows loss of appetite in Group ‘B’. This is an expected finding as Cd does so in laboratory animals and fish (Nearthy 1980; Karson et al. 1985; Reddy and Kothari, 1989) Fish in group ‘C’ like those in Group ‘A’ consumed given food fully. Infact Liv.52 is known to promote appetite and causes better food utilization (Srinivas and Balwani, 1968).
2. Histopathology: Results show Cd-induced liver damage. This finding also get support from previous reports Dubale and Shah, 1979, 81: Ravi and Ramamoorthy, 1989). Liver in Group ‘C’ shows better picture than controls. Single report on fish (Reddy, 1987) confirms this observation. However, this observation can be explained on the basis of known properties of this drug. It protects and regenerates mammalian liver against hepatotoxins: maintains normal activities of GOT, GPT, alkaline phosphatase, respiratory enzymes, drug metabolizing enzymes (Joglekar et al. 1963; Subbarao 1976; Prasad, 1980. Rathore and Varma, 1987). It has also been found that Liv.52 could protect blood vessels following irradiation (Saini et al. 1984). Possibility of similar action of Liv.52 in case of this fish can’t be ruled out.
3. GALLBLADDER: Cadmium affects lipid metabolizing enzymes and lowers lipid content in mammalian systems (Nakagawa et al. 1979; Waku et al. 1980; Rana et al. (1980, 1981). In case of catfish Clarias batrachus, Katti and Sathynesen (1984) have reported that Cd-exposure lowered lipid content. It appears that in the present case also Cd-exposure might have lowered lipid metabolism hence less bile was utilized and good amount was accumulated which resulted in swollen gall bladder. In group ‘C’ gall bladder is of normal size i.e., like controls. Liv.52 also corrects lipid metabolism in mammalian system (Saxena et. al., 1986). In fish Liv.52 protects gut and liver and if these organs can be protected against ill effects of cadmium lipid metabolism is expected to be normal. In such condition only gall bladder’s size will be normal. A clear-cut explanation cannot be given until further work is done on this drug on fishes.

Authors wish to thank the Himalaya drug company, Bombay for giving financial support for this work.