• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.23-28
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• 2004

Olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) was exposed to waterborne iron (0.1, 0.5, 1, 5 and 10 mg/L) for 50 days. The effects of iron on blood iron status and iron binding capacity were studied. The serum iron concentration was significantly higher than in the group exposed to iron (1, 5 and 10 mg/L) in comparison to the control after 30 days of exposure to iron. A significant decrease in unsaturated iron binding capacity was found between the control and the group exposed to iron (5 and 10 mg/L, respectively) at 40 and 50 days, respectively. The total iron binding capacity of serum in the fish exposed to iron concentrations (5 and 10 mg/L) showed a significant decrease compared to that of the control at 40 days after iron exposure. Serum iron saturation values increased in the flounder exposed to iron concentration (5 and 10 mg/L) at 50 days. Our data suggest that sub-lethal exposure of waterborne iron alters the blood iron concentration and iron binding capacity, and these parameters seems to be valuable factors for screening and diagnosis of iron overload syndromes in fish.