Int. J. Aquat. Biol. (2021) 9(4): 226-233 
ISSN: 2322-5270; P-ISSN: 2383-0956
Journal homepage: www.ij-aquaticbiology.com 
© 2021 Iranian Society of Ichthyology 

Original Article 
Comparative study of plasma biochemical parameters in mature male and female 

goldfish, Carassius auratus 
 

Marzieh Abbasi1, Bahram Falahatkar* 1,2, Ali Bani2,3, Behroz Heidari2,3 
 

1Fisheries Department, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Guilan, Sowmeh Sara, Guilan, Iran. 
2Department of Marine Sciences, The Caspian Sea Basin Research Center, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran. 

3Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Guilan, Rasht, Guilan, Iran.
 

 

 

 

s 

Article history: 
Received 3 June 2021 
Accepted 23 August 2021 
Available online 2 5 August 2021 

Keywords:  
Biochemistry 
Blood Plasma 
Reproduction 
Carassius auratus 

Abstract: Blood biochemical parameters are important factors that can show the changes in health 
offering critical feedback on physiological condition of fish. In the present study, we examined a 
comparative study on the blood biochemical parameters in mature male and female goldfish, 
Carassius auratus. Plasma samples of 72 male and female goldfish that have been kept at 24°C for 
30 days were analyzed and their biochemical parameters levels were determined. There were 
significant differences in all measured parameters between genders so that, maximum concentrations 
of the glucose (73.45±0.68 mg/dl) and calcium (8.32±0.05 mg/dl) were found in female fish, while 
the highest levels of the total protein (3.14±0.01 g/dl), cholesterol (281.65±3.19 mg/dl) and 
triglyceride (428.31±1.17 mg/dl) were measured in males. Based on the results, the plasma 
biochemical parameters changes vary considerably between male and female goldfish.  
  

Introduction 
Blood biochemical parameters are valuable, effective 
and sensitive indices to monitor physiological changes 
of animals (Satheeshkumar et al., 2012) that offer 
critical feedback on state of body health and condition 
of aquatic organisms (Edsall, 1999). Recent attention 
has been given to the biochemical characterization of 
fish blood as an internal index because these 
parameters supplies valuable knowledge about 
internal organs and metabolic parameters of both wild 
and cultured fishes (Edsall, 1999), thus they are used 
by fish physiologists. 

Numerous studies have documented that several 
factors can influence blood biochemistry, such as 
diseases and toxic chemicals (Silverira-Coffigny et al., 
2004), season (Dawson, 1990), stress (Morales et al., 
2005), species (Langston et al., 2002), temperature 
(Magill and Sayer, 2004), sexual maturity (Hatami 
Nasari et al., 2014) and sex (Adel et al., 2016). Fish 
sex and maturation influence blood parameters 
(Gabriel et al., 2011) and sex differences is one of the 
most important factor that affects oscillation in blood 

                                                           
*Correspondence: Bahram Falahatkar                                                                                    DOI: https://doi.org/10.22034/ijab.v9i4.1279 
E-mail: falahatkar@guilan.ac.ir 

biochemical parameters (Svoboda et al., 2001) and 
change the levels of various substances such as 
glucose, calcium, protein, cholesterol and triglyceride 
(Rosety et al., 1992; Pedro et al., 2005; Asadi et al., 
2006; Zhang et al., 2014). On the other hand, plasma 
nutrient variations could be a result of gonad 
maturation and nutrient transportation to gonads by 
blood. For this reason, the levels of glucose, total 
protein, triglyceride and cholesterol are considered 
important indices of the internal milieu status of both 
sexes in teleosts. 

Research on some species such as, Caspian Kutum, 
Rutilus frisii (Firouzbakhsh et al., 2013), Pike, Esox 
lucius (Adel et al., 2016) and Pikeperch, Sander 
lucioperca (Zakes et al., 2016) have revealed that 
biochemical parameters are affected by sex. 
Determination of variation in biochemical analysis in 
male and female fish might provide some useful 
baseline information to enhance further studies on 
mechanisms of sex and effects of sexual processes. 

Goldfish, Carassius auratus, as a cyprinidae 
member, is widely distributed in the world and 



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Int. J. Aquat. Biol. (2021) 9(4): 226-233 

 excellent laboratory model for study of the endocrine 
system and various experiments (Popesku et al., 2008; 
Munakata and Kobayashi, 2010; Blanco et al., 2018). 
In this study, we hypothesized that sex differences 
may exert changes on biochemical characteristics. In 
other words, the purpose of the present study was to 
characterize variations in blood biochemistry in both 
sexes of goldfish.  
 
Materials and Methods 
Fish and sampling: This study was carried out on 72 
mature goldfish (36 males and 36 females) supplied 
from Agha-Seyed Sharif Aquatic Farm (Guilan 
Province, Iran) in December 2018. The fish were 
transferred to the wet laboratory at the Faculty of 
Natural Resources, University of Guilan (Sowmeh 
Sara, Guilan Province, Iran). They were maintained in 
a reservoir tank (150×50×50 cm) for a day before 
experiment, with a water circulation and filtration 
system. Water temperature, dissolved oxygen and pH 
were 24±1°C, 7.5±0.4 mg/L and 7.5±0.3, respectively. 
The mean weight of mature male and female goldfish 
was 25.12±1.10 and 27.59±1.29 g and average length 
was 15.10±0.17 and 16.44±0.36 cm, respectively. 
Experimental design: Six 60 L aquaria were used for 
the experiment and 12 fish were introduced into each 
aquarium at ambient temperature of 24°C. The 
temperature was controlled by a thermostat (300 Watt, 
Aqua, Tehran, Iran). During the experiment, the fish 
were fed twice daily at a rate of 2% body weight 
(Priestley et al., 2006; Hafeez-ur-Rehman et al., 2015) 
with a commercial carp pellet (Faradaneh, 
Shahrekord, Iran; containing 35-38% crude protein; 4-
8% crude fat; 7-11% ash; 5-11% moisture; 1-1.5% 
phosphorus; 4-7% crude fiber). Fish were kept under 
12L:12D light regime throughout the experiment. 
Sampling: A total of 72 sexually mature goldfish (36 
males and 36 females) were used in this experiment. 
Two males and two females were sampled from each 
aquarium at days 0, 14 and 30. Fish were anesthetized 
by 200 mg/l clove powder (Abdulrahman et al., 2018), 
then the blood samples were quickly extracted from 
the caudal vein of each goldfish by a 2.5 ml 
heparinized syringe to measure the blood biochemical 

indices. Blood samples were centrifuged for 10 min at 
1500 g at 4°C (Labofuge, HeraeusSepatch, Germany) 
to plasma extraction, then they were stored at -80°C. 
The experiment was conducted in accordance by 
animal ethics handling (Granstrom, 2003). To ensure 
the fish were mature, 6 males and 6 females at the 
initiation of the experiment were dissected and their 
gonads were removed and fixed in Bouin's solution for 
histological analysis. 
Biochemical analysis: Blood glucose, calcium, total 
protein, cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations 
were measured using enzymatic colorimetric analysis 
based on Morris and Davey (2001). All parameters 
were measured using commercial available kits (Pars 
Azmun, Karaj, Iran) and spectrophotometer (UV-
2100 Plus, UNICO, USA). Optical absorption of 
samples was measured at 25°C for all parameters 
using spectrophotometry method. The absorbance of 
glucose, total protein, cholesterol and triglyceride 
were recorded at 546 nm and 570 nm for calcium.  
Gonad histology: After 24 h of preserving of the 
samples in fixative solution, the gonads were 
dehydrated in alcohol, embedded in paraffin wax, 
sectioned at 5 μm thickness, stained with hematoxylin 
and eosin (H&E) (Sanchez et al., 2011) and examined 
under light microscope. Classification of gonad 
maturation stages was done according to criteria 
defined by Brown-Peterson et al. (2011). 
Statistical analysis: Data were examined for 
normality and homogeneity of variances using 
Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Levene's tests, 
respectively. All data were analyzed by Two-way and 
One-way ANOVA test. Sex and days of sampling 
were considered as independent variables and blood 
biochemical parameters were dependent factors. The 
accepted statistical significance level was P<0.05. The 
SPSS software (Ver. 16.0, Chicago, USA) was used 
for analysis and data are presented as the mean ± 
standard error (SE). Pearson correlation was used to 
detect any relationship between the analyzed 
parameters. 
 
Results 
The blood biochemical variables in mature fish are 



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Abbasi et al./ Biochemical parameters in mature male and female goldfish 

shown in Figure 1. Variations between sex and days 
of sampling were found in the blood glucose, calcium, 
total protein, cholesterol and triglyceride values. 
There were significant differences in blood glucose, 
calcium, total protein, cholesterol and triglyceride 
between male and female sampled throughout the 
experiment (P<0.05; Fig. 1; A-E). Interaction 
between sex and day showed that males have higher 
concentrations of total protein, cholesterol and 
triglyceride, but the glucose and calcium levels in 
females were higher in all days. 

Tables 1 and 2 show correlation coefficient of the 
blood plasma biochemical parameters of mature male 

and female, respectively. Our results in mature male 
showed significant positive correlation of the 
triglyceride with cholesterol (Table 1; r=0.946, 
P<0.05) and significant negative correlation of the 
triglyceride and cholesterol with glucose (r=-0.739, 
P<0.05; r=-0.821, P<0.05, respectively). Pearson 
analysis revealed that there was significant positive 
correlation of calcium with cholesterol, total protein 
and triglyceride (rcholesterol = 0.957, rtotal protein = 0.904, 
rtriglyceride = 0.889, P<0.05) in female. Furthermore, in 
mature female, there was a significant positive 
correlation of the triglyceride with cholesterol (r 
=0.889, P<0.05) and total protein (r= 0.886, P<0.05). 

Figure 1. Glucose (A), calcium (B), protein (C), 
cholesterol (D) and triglyceride (E) levels in 
mature male and female goldfish (Carassius 
auratus) in day 0, 14 and 30. Values are reported 
as mean±S.E.; n=12 fish for each group, M=Male, 
F=Female. Numbers with different superscripts 
indicate significant differences among treatments 
(P<0.05). 
 



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Int. J. Aquat. Biol. (2021) 9(4): 226-233 

 

A significant negative correlation between the 
cholesterol, calcium, total protein and triglyceride 
with glucose (rcholesterol=-0.819, rcalcium= -0.797, rtotal 
protein=-0.796, rtriglyceride=-0.774, P<0.05) were 
recorded in female mature goldfish.  

Histological examination of the female and male 
gonads showed the vitellogenesis (vitellogenic oocyte 
in the ovary) and spermatogenesis (spermatids in 
testis) as main characteristics corresponding to the 
maturation stage, respectively (Fig. 2). 

 
Discussion 
Exogenous and endogenous factors such as diseases 
(Chen et al., 2005), sex (Adel et al., 2016) and 

reproduction (Suljević et al., 2017) could induce 
major changes in the blood compositions. In the 
present study, we found female’s goldfish have higher 
concentrations of the glucose which is in consistent 
with previous studies on Beluga sturgeon (Huso huso) 
(Asadi et al., 2006), Atlantic Bluefin tuna (Thunnus 
thynnus) (Percin and Konyalioglu, 2008) and Sterlet 
sturgeon, Acipenser ruthenus (Akhavan et al., 2016). 
Glucose plays a key role during the reproductive 
period and is an important fuel for metabolism 
(Gharaei et al., 2011). Glucose levels vary 
considerably between species, sex, age, nutritional, 
size, sexual maturity and reproductive status 
(McDonald and Milligan, 1992). In our study, 

Table 1. Correlation of blood plasma biochemical parameters in mature male goldfish, Carassius auratus. 

Parameters Glucose Calcium Total protein Cholesterol 
Triglyceride -0.739* 0.005 -0.278 0.946* 
Cholesterol -0.821* -0.125 -0337*  

Total protein 0.356* 0.202   
Calcium 0.119    

 
Table 2. Correlation of blood plasma biochemical parameters in mature female goldfish, Carassius auratus. 

Parameters Glucose Calcium Total Protein Cholesterol 
Triglyceride -0.774* 0.889* 0.886* 0.889* 
Cholesterol -0.819* 0.957* 0.926*  

Total Protein -0.796* 0.904*   
Calcium -0.797*    

 

Figure 2. Histological sections of testis (A) and ovary (B) stained with Hematoxylin & Eosin in goldfish, (Carassius auratus) in day 0, 14 and 30. 
For male and female: scale bar 30 µm, 20 × magnification; scale bar 200 µm, 40 × magnification, respectively. Arrows in A and B represent spermatid 
(included possess dense nuclei) and vitellogenic oocyte (included lipid deposition), respectively. 
 



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Abbasi et al./ Biochemical parameters in mature male and female goldfish 

increased plasma glucose level in female goldfish 
might be a consequence of the gonad development and 
vitellogenesis processes because during vitellogenesis 
and ovary development glucose demand increase for 
energy supply and oocyte growth. In vitellogenesis, 
the hepatic glucose production increase due to 
glycogenolysis. Glycogenolysis is the process of 
glycogen breakdown to glucose-1-phosphate and 
glycogen, an important strategy to increase the blood 
glucose levels (Hemre et al., 2002). In the present 
study, the glucose in female was higher in day 0 
compared with days 14 and 30. It seems that during 
ovary development, the glucose is utilized for energy 
supply of vitellogenesis process or stored in oocyte 
(Akhavan et al., 2016).  

Changes in the blood plasma calcium of fish 
species occur as a result of physiological parameters 
such as sex, development, sexual maturity, diseases 
and etc. (Suljević et al., 2017). In the present study, 
interaction of sex and day showed that the highest 
level of calcium was found in female. Moreover, the 
calcium levels have significantly increased in female 
in all days. Baghizadeh and Khara (2015) in Common 
Carp (Cyprinus carpio) and Adel et al. (2016) in 
Pikeperch showed significant differences in the 
calcium concentrations between genders, and noted 
that females exhibited higher levels of calcium. The 
plasma calcium in female fish exhibits changes during 
the ovarian maturation (Sumpter, 1985; Tyler and 
Sumpter, 1990) and during this phase, the plasma 
calcium displays a variation and increases (Srivastava 
and Srivastava, 1994), whereas in male, plasma 
calcium levels show no change at different stages of 
the gonadal maturation (Balbontin et al., 1978). 
Calcium is essential mineral for vitellogenesis; 
vitellogenin binds by calcium and deliver in oocyte. 
There is a positive correlation between the 
concentrations of calcium and ovarian stages in 
female fish but calcium levels have no changes in male 
during spermatogenesis (Patino and Sullivan, 2002). 
Based on the results, interaction of sex and day 
showed that in all of days, and the blood plasma total 
protein increase in male compare to female goldfish. 
These results were in agreement with Adel et al. 

(2016) in Pikeperch. Plasma total protein increased 
during the vitellogenesis as it is necessary for 
vitellogenin forming and increasing demand of protein 
is controlled by several sex hormonal mechanisms in 
this process (Akhavan et al., 2016). In the present 
study, the accumulation of the protein in oocyte 
caused decreasing the total protein in female. 
However, due to the short time of the experiment, 
further studies are required to determine their reasons. 

The results also showed that the plasma cholesterol 
and triglycerides increase in male in day 30 compare 
with female in day 0. Lund et al. (2000) in Striped 
Bass (Morone saxatilis), Yeganeh (2010) in Common 
Carp, Zakes et al. (2014) in Pikeperch and Adel et al. 
(2016) in Pike have revealed that cholesterol values 
significantly increase during maturation and 
reproductive cycle. In the current study, we observed 
cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations in females 
were lower than males. These finding may be caused 
by changing in physiological condition as a result of 
the oocyte maturation. The reason for the decrease of 
the plasma cholesterol in female is unknown, although 
it seems that the use of cholesterol for steroid 
synthesis, especially estrogenic hormones for 
vitellogenesis may be an explanation of the reduction 
in the lipid levels measured in female compared to 
male fish (Kusakabe et al., 2009). Because cholesterol 
is main precursor to the steroid hormones biosynthesis 
and its levels may change during the reproductive 
cycle between genders (Mommsen et al., 1999; 
Tokarz et al., 2015). In addition, cholesterol and 
triglycerides account important compounds during the 
gonadal development (Firouzbakhsh et al., 2013). 
Decrease in concentrations of the plasma cholesterol 
and triglycerides in the mature female may be due to 
the lipid mobilization towards oocytes for increased 
growth and prerequisite for gonadal development 
(Young et al., 2004). 

In conclusion, the present study revealed that 
biochemical indices were different between male and 
female goldfish. Glucose and calcium increased in 
females because females have more demand of the 
glucose and calcium than males during ovarian 
development. Decrease of the blood total protein in 

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Int. J. Aquat. Biol. (2021) 9(4): 226-233 

 female can be implemented that protein is stored in 
oocyte as main egg structure. To the best of our 
knowledge, changes of cholesterol levels affected by 
the synthesis of steroids levels that may be due to sex-
specific reactions and different gonadal demanded. 

 
Acknowledgements 
This study was supported by a grant (no. 2235116) 
from the Caspian Sea Basin Research Center to the 
MA which is gratefully acknowledged. We are also 
thankful to M. Mehdizadeh for his help during 
preparation of fish.  
 
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