Chatterjee_2001_Comp.Biochem.Physiol.C.Toxicol.Pharmacol_129_265

We investigated whether carbofuran (CF), a carbamate pesticide, at sub-lethal concentration had any adverse effects on reproductive function of the Indian catfish, Heteropneustes fossilis. 17beta-Estradiol content of serum and ovary of pre-spawning (P) and spawning (S) fish was reduced after sub-lethal concentration of carbofuran treatment (0.5-2 mg/ml, 30 days). After 30 days of CF treatment, the serum and ovarian vitellogenin levels of fish at the P stage were also reduced but remained unaltered in the S stage. The staining intensity of the pituitary gonadotrophs of the pre-spawning fish was significantly higher in CF-treated fish compared to controls suggesting the inability of the pituitary gonadotrophs to release gonadotropin following CF treatment. CF thus acts as an antiestrogenic, endocrine-disrupting agent in fish, possibly targeting the pituitary-gonad axis.