The aquatic ecosystem is under increasing pressure from environmental contaminants due to anthropogenic activities. This study investigated the potential of glyphosate and paraquat to induce DNA damage and other cell abnormalities in juvenile African Catfish, Clarias gariepinus. Juvenile fish were exposed for 96 h to 0.36, 0.48, 0.60, 0.72 and 0.84 mg/L glyphosate; and 0.018, 0.037, 0.055, 0.110 and 0.221 mg/L paraquat. Following the exposure, the fish liver and blood were analysed for DNA damage and micronucleus respectively. DNA damage was analysed using comet assay while the micronucleus test was used for assessing nuclear abnormalities. Both herbicides induced DNA damage in fish, with paraquat exhibiting higher toxicity. The severity in liver DNA damage was observed to be dependent on concentration. The herbicides triggered formation of micronuclei, bean-shaped cells, lobed nuclei, and apoptosis in blood cells of fish. Both herbicides also increased the frequency of occurrence of these cell abnormalities in erythrocytes and showed mutagenic potential in fish. Glyphosate and Paraquat both have mutagenic potentials in fish and this is a reflection of the threat these contaminants pose to fish and other forms of aquatic life in our natural water bodies. Low concentrations of these herbicides should be encouraged when usage is inevitable

由于人类活动，水生生态系统面临着越来越大的环境污染物压力。本研究调查了草甘膦和百草枯诱导非洲鲶鱼(Clarias gariepinus ) 幼鱼 DNA 损伤和其他细胞异常的可能性。幼鱼暴露于0.36、0.48、0.60、0.72和0.84 mg/L草甘膦96小时；以及 0.018、0.037、0.055、0.110 和 0.221 mg/L 百草枯。暴露后，分别对鱼肝脏和血液进行 DNA 损伤和微核分析。使用彗星测定分析 DNA 损伤，同时使用微核测试评估核异常。这两种除草剂都会引起鱼类 ​​DNA 损伤，其中百草枯的毒性更高。据观察，肝脏 DNA 损伤的严重程度取决于浓度。除草剂引发微核、豆状细胞、裂片核的形成以及鱼类血细胞的凋亡。这两种除草剂还增加了红细胞中这些细胞异常的发生频率，并在鱼类中表现出潜在的诱变潜力。草甘膦和百草枯都对鱼类具有致突变性，这反映出这些污染物对鱼类和自然水体中其他形式的水生生物构成的威胁。当不可避免使用时，应鼓励使用低浓度的除草剂