The effect of copper, zinc, mercury and cadmium on some sperm enzyme activities in the common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.).

The objective of the study was to determine the effect of copper, zinc, cadmium and mercury ions (100, 10 and 1 mg/l) on the activity of some enzymes of carp spermatozoa. Acid phosphatase activity was proved to be relatively insensitive to zinc ions, while copper, mercury and cadmium ions effectively inhibited the activity of this enzyme. Beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase activity was sensitive only to mercury ions. Lactic dehydrogenase activity remained unaffected by heavy metals. Our results showed that, among the examined metals, mercury had the strongest inhibitory effect on enzymatic activities.