ABSTRACT
This study was conducted to investigate the impact of environmental pollution on the physiological and histological changes observed in African clawed frogs, Xenopus laevis, collected from three distinct sites. The results unveiled significant variations (p > 0.05) and (p < 0.05) for values marked with the same and different subscripts, respectively, across all the measured physicochemical environmental parameters within the study areas. The research focused on three specific locations: Oko, Uniben Capitol, and Uwelu. Ten tadpoles were collected from each site, with their head and tail weights recorded for subsequent enzyme assays. Water analysis was performed to assess the level of contamination at each site, encompassing parameters such as pH, TDS, alkalinity, DO, BOD, COD, Fe, Cu, and Zn. The findings suggest notable biochemical adaptations among tadpoles from the Oko, Uwelu, and Capitol regions, likely influenced by environmental factors and resource availability. In comparison to Capitol (utilized as the control group in this study), tadpoles from the other sites exhibited decreased levels of energy biomarkers (LDH, total protein, glucose, except for TAG). These outcomes underscore the significant impact of environmental pollution on the energy adaptation levels of these tadpoles, as documented through the calculation of mean and SEM values.
